God Eater Burst: Don't Run Away from Living
by Gabriel Helsing
Summary: "My whole life I did everything I wanted to do, everything I could do, all for a promise I made long ago. And now?... Now I'm one of the Gods Eaters, humanity's last hope against the Aragami." Unrelated to Don't Run Away From Living! By ChaozHeavenz. Now on Temporary Hiatus. Reason in Chapter 10.
1. Prologue: A Promise Made

**Prologue: The Sacrifice**

It is the year 2071. Mankind is on the brink of extinction as it faces a threat that appeared over 20 years ago. Terrifying beings that devour anything and everything, including their own kind. Some called them Gods while others called them monsters; however the whole world would come to know them under a single name…

Aragami.

My name is Kamino Yukimoto and this is my… No, our story.

The story of the God Eaters.

Before I became a God Eater, I was raised in an orphanage somewhere in Malaysia, just outside the Fenrir Western Malaysia Branch. From what the owners told me, I am half-Chinese and half-Japanese. My parents were killed during an Aragami attack, and I was one of the only survivors. I never thought about it much, never having the chance to meet them. I was more concerned with why was I born in such a place.

No, I don't mean the orphanage. I meant the world we leave in now, full of Aragami. Every day, we live in fear of an Aragami attack, wondering whether the place we live has sufficient protection. Sure we did have a number of God Eaters and an Anti-Aragami Armored wall, but even God Eaters can be killed by the Aragami and the walls have been breached before, meaning we have no sure way of maintaining our survival. I personally saw that happen at a young age. Before that, I thought the peace we live in could last forever, as naive as any little kid could be. Just wish the wake call wasn't so... drastic. I was envious of the Gods Eaters, given the ability to fight. For us normal folks, all we could do was worry all the time since we had no way to defend ourselves.

Is the wall secure? Are we really safe? Did they post enough Gods Eaters to protect us? And whatnot. Over time, I actually grew to **resent** the Gods Eaters. That's right, I wanted nothing to do with them.

So how did I end up having the determination to become one? To get where I am now?

Well surprisingly, the determination to become a God Eater came when I was 6 years old. Yeah... that was when I met HIM…

Remember when I said that the wall had been breached before? Well, it happened again. Several Ogretails have managed to bypass the wall and were wrecking havoc all over the place. Everyone was either dead or trying to run away from the Aragami. Me? I was outside the orphanage when it happened. I could barely remember it now. I hid, I ran, I was scared out of my wits. But what I do remember was being impaled through the chest by a spike, and lying on the ground barely alive. An Ogretail was standing right next to me with its mouth and I thought, 'I finally get to leave this God-forsaken world."

I was wrong.

The Ogretail was stabbed by a huge sword through the head, a God Arc as I recall my tutor had told me, the only weapon in existence that can kill Aragami. My 'savior' was a man, I think in his thirties, though I could barely make out his face with my blurring vision. In silence, I cursed whatever deity that was watching me right now for prolonging my torment. It wasn't enough that you didn't let me die, but you let a Gods Eater, a fricking GODS EATER save my life to boot? Did I offended you in my past life or something?

"You alright, kid? Damn, you're a tough one." He said as he gently picked me up. I didn't want to be rescued, I wanted to DIE. Oblivious to my thoughts, he quickly brought me to one of his teammates in nearby building, a male medic who then treated my wounds. Yet, another Gods Eater I owe my life to.

"This kid's tough. A spike to the chest and he's still clinging to life. Good thing you found him in time, Prophet." The medic remarked as he bandaged my wound. The man called Prophet nodded his head. I was pretty weak and barely able to move, but the pain kept me awake. The medic finished patching me up and went to look for more survivors and wounded while Prophet remained.

"..et..ie" I muttered. Prophet heard it and came closer, "What is it kid? Are you trying to say something?" Struggling to get up, I repeated what I said a little louder.

"You should have let me die."

Upon hearing that Prophet frowned, "I can't do that and you shouldn't think like that either." I glared at him. What do you know about me? You're a God Eater, one of the chosen who can fight the Aragami. What do you know about what it's like living day after day, fearing and attacked from them? At least you can fight back. As if reading my thoughts, he said, "Hey kid, let me tell you something. All God Eaters was once a normal person like you and they have loved ones who were killed by Aragami. That didn't stop them from living. In fact, some God Eaters died in the line of duty." I looked at Prophet, puzzled as to why he would tell me stuff my tutor already taught me. "Hey kid, you got a name?" he asked suddenly.

"…. Kamino. Kamino Yukimoto." I wasn't sure why he wanted to know my name, but it's not like he could do anything even if he knew.

A roar from outside caught Prophet's attention and he went outside with his God-Arc. Apparently the Ogretails had found us; Prophet smirked as he glanced at me. "We got company, and they look like they're eager for party. I don't want to disappoint them, so wait here."

I rolled my eyes with that last part, I couldn't move due to my injuries and my consciousness was fading. Knowing that the God Eater would not let me die, I closed my eyes. I woke up a few minutes later when something wet splashed on my face. Thinking it was Aragami blood, I opened my eyes to find I was half-right.

It was blood, just not Aragami's. And it belonged to Prophet.

The God Eater stood just beside me, his blood dripping from several chest wounds made by Ogretail spikes. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he grinned at me. "Guess I showed them, huh?" I couldn't say anything due to the shock I was having. "You shouldn't give up so easily just because things look hopeless. If everybody did that, there wouldn't be any humans left, would there?" It took a while for me to process that, but I understood what he meant. If that had happen, Fenrir wouldn't have existed. Neither would the Gods Eaters nor God Arcs.

Hell, I wouldn't even be here.

Collapsing just beside me, Prophet looked at me, "As you can see, I'm practically a dead man walking now; I don't have much time left." Popping up a cigarette, he lit it with a lighter before turning to me, "I want you to promise me something, Kamino. That you would live your life to the fullest and protect those important to you and others. Do the things you wanna do, do the things you can do. I can't do all that anymore but you can, in my place. Make it a life worth living for. Can you do that, kid? Can you promise me?" Tears trailed down my cheeks as I nodded in understanding. Prophet blew a small cloud, frowning, "Nodding ain't enough, kid. I need to hear say it. I gave you my life, wouldn't heard to hear a verbal confirmation." Slowly getting up and wiping my tears, I said out loud, "I promise you, Prophet. No matter what happens, I'll keep on living my life with no regrets." my voice started to choke. Good, good." Prophet smiled as he brought cigarette to his mouth, only to cough up blood. "Oh to hell with this…" He flung the cigarette to the side, "Oh, and one last piece of advice… Whatever happens to you…"

I could barely make out his last words when the God Eater closed his eyes. At that moment I knew he was dead. Moments later, the medic from before along with several God Eaters arrived. I blankly looked at them then back to Prophet, my promise to him fresh within my mind…

It's a funny thing. I saw several Gods Eaters die before, yet it took one particular Gods Eater to change my view of life and teach me what it really is all about. But, I guess that's what sacrifice really is. You're not giving something up; you're just passing it on. And while Prophet died, he left me something truly invaluable. Something irreplaceable, just like life itself.

That was 10 years ago. I had long left the orphanage and travelled the world. True that it has its risks, but what I've seen and experienced made it all worthwhile. I had tried several Fenrir Branches along the way, to see if I was a match for a Bias Factor. Unfortunately, it never happened and I left feeling disappointed with myself. Now I'm staying in the Outer Ghetto, close to the Fenrir Far East Branch, doing odd jobs for a living. At times I would look at the sky, I would sometimes think to myself that I'd probably never become a Gods Eater, that I'd never get the chance to protect others and I truly believed that.

Until an official from Fenrir arrived one day and told me that I am a match as a New-Type God Eater. While I was puzzled by the term 'New-Type', I quickly accepted, eager to follow in my savior's, Prophet's footsteps. That day, I thank the same deity that had Prophet save my life for giving me this chance.

And with that, my life as a God Eater had begun.

...

So what do you think? This is my first time, so please tell me your thoughts! Rate and comment, but don't subscribe if you don't want to. The next chapter will come soon.

Thank you very much for taking your time to read this.


	2. Chapter 1: Becoming A Gods Eater

**Chapter 1: The Recruit**

Having arrived inside the Fenrir Far East Branch, I donned a white formal Fenrir uniform. Checking the clothes, I realized that the clothes were smooth, flexible and breathe easily. No wonder, after all who can go into combat with stiff clothes.

Standing in front of large double doors, I could feel myself tense as I wondered about what I would be facing. Remembering that the official mentioned an aptitude test, I decided to brace myself and push through the doors.

I found myself in an empty, but pretty big room. Scratch that, the room was empty except for a large machine in the middle. Walking closer, I noticed that there was a God Arc lying within it. Am I supposed to take it?

"Sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Welcome to Humankind's last fortress, Fenrir. I will now test your compatibility as one of the Anti-Aragami Punitive Force, the Gods Eaters."

The sudden voice coming from nowhere had startled me and I looked around for the source, my eyes finally resting on glass shield window opposite me, close to the ceiling. I could make out a few people behind the glass, but nothing else beyond that.

"Please try to relax a little, you'll get... Better results that way. "When you're ready, go stand in front of that case in the center of the room."

Nodding my head, I took a few deep breathes to calm myself. I'd lying if I said wasn't feeling nervous and that certainly wasn't going help with my test.

After making sure I was both physically and mentally prepared, I walked over the machine and placed my hand on the sword.

What happened next was certainly unexpected.

The top part of the machine slammed down onto my hand, and I felt as if something was biting into my wrist. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed my right arm with left hand and endured the pain. When it was done, the machine opened and I found myself with a large red and black bracelet on my wrist.

Lifting up the sword, I found that was able to hold it up with ease. Holding it up into the light, I frowned as I inspected the weapon. Judging from its size, it should weight more than 5 tons and yet it's as light as feather. Is this thing really a God Arc?

Then something else unexpectedly happened.

A black tendril of some sort came out of the sword and attached itself into the opening on my bracelet! Upon contact, I felt something pulse through my whole hand and almost dropped the sword in surprise.

"Congratulations, you are now the first of the Far East Branch's New-Type God Eaters. This concludes the aptitude test. Now that we know you're a match, you'll be going for a medical check-up next. Now then, I'd like you to wait in the room beyond that door, don't hesitate to know someone know right away if you start to feel... Unwell.

So the aptitude test was to see if I was compatible with the God Arc? Kind of made sense really, though I don't want to know what would happen if I wasn't a match. Wait, did he say I was the "First New-Type"? And that I might feel weird? This is getting complicated… what was the difference between a "New-Type" and a usual Gods Eater anyway?

Shrugging to myself, I decided to save my questions for later and do what the voice when I caught on what he said last.

"I have high hopes for you."

I just started and he has high expectations from me? I am screwed… Prophet, I hope you're looking out for me; the pressure is more than I expected to take.

Heading back to the entrance, I noticed a boy about my age or so sitting down and swinging his legs while chewing gum. Upon closer inspection, I found myself crying out in surprise at the familiar face, "Kota! Kota Fujiki!" The youth turned to me at the mention of his name and returned my startled gaze, "Kamino! I didn't expect to see you here!" I took my seat right next to Kota, "Likewise, so you were chosen to be Gods Eater. Am I right?" Kota puffed out his chest with pride.

Before I continue, this is Kota Fujiki, 15 years old. Before this, he used to live in the Outer Ghetto like me along with his mother and younger sister, Nozomi. Since I did odd jobs, I usually ran into them and at times, they either invited me to dinner or watch Burgarally, their favourite show.

"Hey... you want some gum? Oh, I'm all out, looks like I ate the last piece, sorry."

I shook my head, letting him know that it was alright and he sighed in relief.

"So, you're a match too? That makes two of us."

I nodded, "That's right. By the way, my codename is Helsing. For future reference when we are on missions together."

Kota looked amused, "You made a codename?"

Shrugging, I explained, "It was a nickname that followed me since my childhood, figured I'd just use it as my codename."

Kota nodded in understanding, "I see, well I remember the fact you are older than me by 2 years. Oh well, I'm still your senior by a nanosecond, nice to meet you."

… What does age got to do with that? Heck, does age have to do with ANYTHING?

We talked in order to catch up a bit. Before long, I soon noticed someone else had arrived, a rather attractive woman with a stern look on her face. Judging from her behaviour, I'm sure that she is one of my superiors.

"Stand up." She said.

I was caught unaware by what was said and blankly looked at her. Kota had his head on the side and even said, "Huh?"

"Stand up! On your feet!" She said again, this time a little louder.

No need to tell me a third time.

Both Kota and I stood up immediately, rigid with attention; Kota saying , "Yes Ma'am!"

Satisfied with our response, she continued, "I'm on a tight schedule so I'll be keeping this short, my name is Tsubaki Amamiya, and I'm your advisor. This is your schedule, after your medical check-up, you'll complete a full curriculum of basic physical training, basic combat training, as well as weaponry and armor clinic. We are the ones who have been protecting you up until now, but from this day forward, you'll be doing the protecting. If you don't want to die over something stupid, you'll answer my every order with a yes. Understood?"

I wanted to ask her whether people ever died disobeying her orders, but decided to keep it to myself. I didn't want to die on the first day on the job.

"Answer me!" Tsubaki barked, apparently expecting an answer the moment she demanded it.

Kota and I responded, "Yes, Ma'am!"

"Alright, let's begin the medical checkups. We'll start with you." She said nodding at me. "Report to Doctor Paylor Sakaki's room by 1500 hours."

"Understood, Ma'am!" I answered.

"Take a tour of the facilities until then, this is your new home, the Fenrir Far East Branch aka the Den. Make sure you pay your respects to the members of your team." Tsubaki said before walking off. However, I frowned at the last part. Who are the members of my team? Noting that I had half an hour before having to go for my check up, I went up to the operator who introduced herself as Takeda Hibari and listened to her explanations about the sections in building.

**-A while later-**

Figuring it was time I went for my check-up, I headed to 's laboratory. On the way, I noticed a pink haired girl who seemed out of place. She then looked at me and nodded.

"Oh, you must be the new recruit. My name's Kanon Daiba, you must be here for your medical checkup then. His lab is at the end of the hall way. The Doc maybe a little eccentric but he is a very kind mind so you'll be fine."

Nodding my head in thanks, I headed towards the end of the hallway and knocked the door, three times. A voice from inside told me I could come in. When I did, I noticed two people: a man sitting behind several computer screens wearing glasses and another man who wore a Fenrir overcoat.

"Oh, you got here 726 seconds sooner than I expected. Good to see you, New type!"

Doing the math in my head, I realized that I was early by 12 minutes 6 seconds, why the doctor used seconds only was beyond me.

"My name is Doctor Paylor Sakaki, but you may just call me Doctor Sakaki. I am in charge of this Fenrir's branch's Aragami technology R&D. Well, we'll be seeing each other more often, welcome aboard."

Bowing my head, I noted that the doctor was too busy checking some data to even look at me. Typical scientist type.

"Now then, as you can see, I'm still pretty busy getting prepared. Johannes, why don't you get your business out of the way first?"

Well, at least he's polite enough to acknowledge it.

Johannes turned to the Doc and said ", I think it's high time you learned to separate business from private matters." Upon hearing his voice, I realized that he was the same man who spoke to me during my aptitude test.

"Thank you for taking part in the Aptitude Test. My name is Johannes von Schicksal. I'm in charge of the Fenrir Branch in this region. Congratulations again on passing the test. I expect great things from you."

Ugh, not that I don't appreciate the attention, but that's a lot of expectation from me considering I just joined today. Then again, I am the first of this… "New Type" Gods Eater… whatever that is.

Dr. Sakaki then suddenly stopped whatever he was doing and said to me, "He's a former techie too, you know."

Say what? The Director is a former techie?

He then turned to Johannes and said "The New-Types medical checkups interest you to no end. Right, Johannes?"

Director Schicksal turned to Dr. Sakaki and said, "I decided to retire as a techie because we have you. Keep that in mind." The Doc then asked, "Did you really ever retire though?" For whatever reason, the Director decided to ignore him and continued, "Hmm… Now then, this is where the real fun starts. Let me explain the Fenrir Corporation's objectives once more. Your direct duties are very simple. They are to keep the Aragami in this region at bay… and to gather materials… which are then converted into resources needed to maintain this base, as well as to complete the impending "Aegis Project."

Sounds like the Gods Eaters have a more complex job than it first appears.

Right at that time, Dr. Sakaki exclaimed, "Ugh, look at these numbers…" Johannes ignored it and continued, yet again. "The Aegis Project… is simply put, a plan to create a utopia impregnable against Aragami attacks… located far out to sea, close to the former Sea of Japan trench."

"Ahh.."

"Once the project is complete, humankind will be able to avoid extinction, at a least for a while."

"Amazing! So this is what a New-Type is like!"

There it is again, New Type… Note to self, look up New-Type on the Terminal once business here is finished. And apparently, the Director couldn't take another interruption because he turned to the Doc with a rather displeased look on his face.

"Paylor… You're disrupting my lecture."

"Oh, sorry about that. I was just so taken aback by these stats… I got carried away."

"… At any rate, the future of humankind is at stake so give it your best effort. All right, I'll be taking my leave now. I'm leaving it all to you Paylor. Send me the data when you're done." And with that, the Director left the room.

"Okay, we're good to go now. Lie down on the bed, will you?"

Nodding my head, I went straight to the bed and lay down as instructed.

"You will feel sleepy for a little while, but I assure there's nothing to worry about. When you wake up, you'll be in your own room. Just a little cat nap, so to speak… you'll get about 10800 seconds. Sweet dreams!"

10800 seconds, like three hours. Once again, why does Doc insist on using seconds is beyond me. As I lay there feeling sleepy, I wondered what else would be waiting for me.  
>_<p>

And we're done! Please rate and comment. See ya next time!


	3. Chapter 2: To Eat The Gods

**Chapter 2: First Mission**

Waking up a while later, I noticed that I was indeed in my room. My stuff which has been placed in cardboard boxes, are neatly stacked in one corner of the room. Figuring I should check the manuals first, I went up to the terminal in my room and logged in. I soon found an email from Kouta, asking about the time for his own appointment. Unfortunately I didn't know either, due to being informed only of my own appointment.

Having read everything about New-Types, Old-Types, the God Arcs, Blades, Guns, Shields and Bullets, I decided to stick with balanced set for my God Arc. Namely: an Assault Gun, a long Blade and a normal Shield. Satisfied with my choice, I decided to try testing it out for myself.

Heading back to the entrance via the elevator, I decided to check in with Hibari to see if there were any tutorials and sure enough, there were. Eager to get started, I decided to take on all tutorials at once.

**-Meanwhile-**

Director Johannes von Schicksal was sitting in his office when a familiar face showed up on his screen.

"Ah Paylor, I was wondering when I'd hear from you. Do you have the results?"

Sakaki smiled, "Of course, I'm sending to you right now. And I thought I should inform you about something. It concerns the New-Type, Kamino Yukimoto."

"Is it bad?" Johannes asked with a look of concern on his face.

"Actually, it's astounding. The New-Type has just finished his 5th training program and is currently starting on his 6th."

Johannes sighed, "Paylor, there is nothing special about that. A few other Gods Eaters are also able to…"

Paylor however interrupted, "I wasn't finished, Johannes. The New-Type had started his training… 2 minutes ago."

This information had caught the director's attention, "The new recruit started his training program 2 minutes ago and has finished 5 of them… non-stop?" Paylor smiled again, "That's right, speaking of which he just finished his last one."

Johannes' eyes became wide, "Paylor, send me all data recorded on Kamino Yukimoto." Paylor said with an amused tone, "Already sent them. Like I said before Johannes, did you really ever retire?"

Ignoring that comment, Johannes continued, "Continue to observe the new recruit and give weekly reports of your findings." Shutting off contact with Paylor, Johannes decided to review the data. Paylor was right, what he found was nothing short of astounding; the only person he knew who has similar data was…

"It would seem that you have somewhat exceeded my expectations. I look forward to seeing what you are truly capable of in the future." Johannes muttered with a smile on his face.

**-Back at the Entrance-**

"That's it? C'mon Hibari, there's got to be more." I pleaded with the operator.

"I'm sorry, Kamino. But you finished all your tutorials, there's simply nothing left to teach for basics since you got them all hands down." She then looked at me with a puzzled look on her face, "I'm surprised you really were able to finish them all in 1 go, not to mention the time you took to complete them."

I returned Hibari's puzzled look with my own, "I'm just a fast learner, that doesn't mean I'll be just as effective in actual combat." Sighing to myself, I wondered what I was going to do when my stomach emitted a large growl, reminding me that I had not eaten anything since I came here.

Giggling, Hibari asked, "Wanna join me for dinner? It looks like your friend has the same idea." Shrugging, I accepted the offer and followed Hibari to the cafeteria. There I saw another person I had met earlier, "Licca, you here to have dinner too?"

The mechanic looked at me before giving me a smile, "Kamino, I see that your stomach decided to give in right after your training." She said jokingly. Rolling my eyes, I sarcastically replied, "Yeah, yeah. My stomach practically collapsed on me while I tried to find something else to do after training, so sue me why don't ya." Laughing, I thanked the staff for giving me my meal before sitting at a table. Hibari sat next to me while Licca sat opposite of me. We chatted about some normal stuff before things shifted to my life before I became a Gods Eater.

"So what were you doing before Fenrir signed you up?" Licca asked. While chewing my food, I thought about it before swallowing to reply. "I was staying in the Outer Ghetto doing odd jobs and before that, I was travelling the world." I heard both girls gasped as I told them. "Isn't that dangerous, there's still a lot of Aragami out there!" Hibari exclaimed. Nodding my head, I replied, "True, but some things in this world are still worth risking your life for. Besides, I would still be stuck in Malaysia and not be here if I didn't, right?"

Licca frowned, "That's true, but don't you miss your home or your family? Don't they get worried?" This time, I shrugged while chewing my food before swallowing, "My parents were killed in an Aragami attack when I was still a baby. Can't really say I miss them, since I never even got the chance to know who they were. Been an orphan ever since." I soon stopped as I realized that both girls had gone silent due to this revelation… Damn, I probably shouldn't have said that.

"Anyway, it's getting late. I should go to sleep; last thing I want is for Tsubaki to chew my head off for not coming on time. Good night." I hurriedly gave my tray to the staff and made my way back to my room.

Boy, did I make it awkward should we meet again tomorrow. Thankfully, I didn't tell them the reason WHY I wanted to become a Gods Eater. That… was something I wasn't prepared to tell anyone yet.

Collapsing into my bed, I felt my eyelids slowly close themselves before I drifted off to sleep…

**-The next day-**

Waking up the next morning, I had nagging feeling that I had forgotten something, something really important. Thinking about for a while, I decided to leave it be as worrying about wouldn't help. If it was important, it surely will come back to me.

After a nice refreshing shower, I wore another formal Fenrir uniform and made my way to the entrance. I had hoped that Hibari did not remember what said last night; however it was obvious she did, considering she was avoiding eye-contact and was trying to find something to say. Sighing I said, "Hibari, it's cool. I intend to live out the rest of my life for my parents' sake. After all, they are reason I'm still alive, right?" Hibari nodded in understanding before smiling.

Smiling back, I asked, "Is there anything for me today?" Hibari checked her computer, "Yes, in fact Tsubaki has just assigned a mission for you. You are going to be sent to the Old City to eliminate a single Ogretail, the name of the operation is Devil's Tail. Understood?" I nodded my head, "I got it." Hibari continued, "Also on this mission, Lindow will be accompanying you. That reminds me, I have to tell Lindow that the director wants to see him once he gets here."

So not only is am I assigned to fight a single Aragami, I'm being chaperoned as well? Hopefully this won't last, or I REALLY will be ineffective for actual battle.

A few minutes later…

Wondering when this 'Lindow' person would get here, I had half a mind to go look for him myself when I heard Hibari said "Oh, Lindow… the Director said if I saw you, to tell you to come see him." Lindow replied with, "Okay!... Don't tell him you saw me." I couldn't help but give an amused look at my superior officer, who apparently isn't on good terms with the Director. Walking right up to me, Lindow greeted me, "Hey there, rookie. The name is Lindow Amamiya. On paper, I'm your superior officer. But never mind all the boring stuff, okay?"

Quite laidback and carefree for veteran God Eater… Wait a sec, Amamiya? He's Tsubaki's brother? Man, I heard about opposite personalities but never thought I'd actually see one!

"All I'm asking is that you become someone I know will have my back. OK?"

Before I can give my reply, another person passed by. I looked at the newcomer, who is just an equal a beauty as Tsubaki is… though why her clothes were just as revealing really puzzles me. It's true that it allows her to move quicker in battle, but I doubt it'll offer as much defense.

"Oh, who is this, a rookie?" The woman asked.

Lindow replied with a seemingly annoyed tone, "Yeah and I'm pounding him with all our severe rules right now, so take a hike, Sakuya."

"Yes, sir! Big Boss, sir!" Sakuya said with a seemingly mocking tone before giving me wave, which I returned with curt nod. As I did so, a particular thought crossed my mind.

These two obviously have a thing for each other.

Grinning to myself mentally, I continued to listen to Lindow as Sakuya left. "So anyway, that's about it. OK? I'm sending right into battle now… but I'll be accompanying on this mission." Lindow paused while checking the clock, "Hey , look at the time. We're gonna head out, guys."

**-Location: The Old City  
>Mission: Devil's Tail-<strong>

I silently watched at the ruined city as Lindow remarked on its state, "Boy, this place has seen better times, huh?" Not sure how to reply, I merely shrugged. Lindow then gave out his orders, "Hey rookie, we're gonna start the simulation now. You got three orders:  
>1. Don't die<br>2. If your number's up, get out  
>3. Lastly, hide<br>4. If you're lucky, catch the enemy off guard and blast it  
>… Wait was that 4?<br>The bottom line is, you've got to survive. Just follow that order, and everything else will be fine."

Nodding my head, I wondered if Lindow did this on purpose. Considering that this may not be the first Lindow has trained new recruits… Yeah, Lindow definitely did it on purpose.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!"

Before leaving, I held out my God Arc in front of me and placed it close to my forehead, "I'm counting on you, partner." Lindow looked amused at the display, "Partner?" I looked at Lindow, "Yeah, my God Arc is my partner. Without it, I'm pretty much useless against Aragami." Lindow seemed to consider it before replying, "True that, but aren't the God Arcs are just as useless without us God Eaters to wield them?" I frowned, "That's true too, I guess we just plain need each other." Lindow laughed while insisting we get a move on.

Jumping down from the cliff we were on, we went to find our target: a lone Ogretail. Along the way, I salvage a few materials which would be handy later on. Just before turning the corner, I heard what sounded like chewing. Holding out my hand as a signal for Lindow to slow down, I quietly crept to the corner and peeked. Sure enough, the Ogretail was there, feasting on some leftover building materials. "Good work, rookie." Lindow voiced his approval.

Running straight towards the lone Aragami I readied my God Arc in assault mode, the Ogretail had heard my footsteps and turned around… only to cry out in pain and as I striked it three times continuously. It tried to counter by swinging its tail, but I jumped to avoid it. Lindow joined the fray by attacking the Ogretail by the side, causing it to lose balance and fall. Seizing the chance, both Lindow and I released our God Arcs' predator forms. Readying my blade, I cried out, "Devour it!" as my God Arc took a huge chunk out of the Ogretail. I soon felt energy surging through me as the Burst Mode activated.

Eager to end the battle, I switched to gun mode and fired at the currently immobile Ogretail while Lindow continuously attacked it with his sword. Since I didn't have any confidence in hitting a moving enemy, I always utilize my gun to the fullest by hitting an immobile target. As soon as I used up my OC (Oracle Cells), I dashed towards the Ogretail to deal the finishing blow. However, the Aragami did not plan to fall without fight and swung its tail in a circular motion. Lindow quickly dodge to the side while I brought my shield to bear. Feeling the full impact, I felt my feet being dragged on the ground before stopping. Ready to counterattack, Lindow and I simultaneously struck the Ogretail which gave one final cry before falling on the ground, dead.

"Nice job, rookie. Looks like you've put your all that training-in-one-go to good use." Lindow remarked. I looked puzzled, "You knew about that?" Lindow nodded, "Yeah, even Tsubaki was surprised that you mastered the basics in such a short time… And that's saying something." He then gestured at the Ogretail, "Now that its dead, you have to remove the core by devouring it, otherwise it'll just come back again. Also, you get materials from slain Aragami as well, to make items or improve your God Arc." Nodding to Lindow's instructions, I removed the core before leaving with Lindow on a Fenrir helicopter, the same ride that brought us here.

As soon as we returned, I handed both the core and my God Arc to Licca, who told me that I had lecture with Dr. Sakaki. Thanking her, I quickly made my way to the laboratory and saw that Kota was there as well.

Dr. Sakaki greeted me as soon as I arrived, "There you are." Taking my seat, the Doc gave a slight cough before starting, "All right, let's jump in. What do you think an Aragami is?" he said while looking at me. I wasn't sure how to reply when he continued, "…"The nemesis of humankind", "an absolute predator", "destroyer of the world"… Well, that about sums it up." I had to admit, that was a pretty good way of summing things up in a nutshell. "Now then, these aren't misconceptions. Rather, you could say it means one simply has his eyes fixed on the phenomena before him…"

"Okay, I have a question. Have you ever wondered how and why the Aragami came into being? As you probably know, the Aragami appeared out of nowhere one day. Since then, their numbers exploded. Yep, as if they were ripping through every evolutional process." Paylor continued while striding back and forth. Right at moment though, Kota gave a yawn. "Hey listen, does this lecture have point? I mean what do we care about the reason for the Aragami existence?"

I was pretty sure that the lecture was meant to have point since we have go through it with it, and was just about to tell Kota that when I noticed the Doc standing next to him. "Sure about that?" he asked, shocking Kota. "An Aragami has no brain. Neither does it have a heart, nor even spinal fluid. We frail humans will perish if we get blasted in the head or the chest…" I visibly winced at the last part. "…but that's not enough to bring an Aragami down. An Aragami is a cluster of Oracle Cells, each of which is a single-cell that thinks and preys on others. That's right, an Aragami is in itself a colony of thousands, make that hundreds of thousands of life forms."

If the Ogretail I fought earlier had hundreds of thousands of Oracle Cells, I hate to imagine how many were present in the even bigger Aragami.

"And this powerful, graceful fusion of cells can't be destroyed by conventional weapons – not the ones we have, anyway… So how on earth are you people are suppose to battle these Aragami?" A pretty easy question, even Kota would be able answer and sure enough, he did. Paylor nodded, "Yes, the short answer is that using a God Arc, a bio weapon embedded with same Oracle Cells is the only way to stop the fusing of an Aragami's Oracle Cells. However, this can also rogue cell colonies to refuse, and then form a new entity. The best thing to do would be to extract the Aragami Core, the cell colony serving as a command center. But this is extraordinarily difficult to do. Even with God Arc, we have no way to deliver a decisive blow. Somewhere along the way, the people likened this absolute being to the countless Gods that have been passed down around here and they started to call it "Aragami"."

That explains where the name came from, always wondered about it.

"All right, that's it for today's lecture. I'd like you to refer to the Norn database in the terminal for more details about the Aragami. Understood?"

A while later, I lay down on my bed in my room, wondering. Would Aegis Project really be able to give us brief respite from the Aragami? Only time will tell…

… Okay, this one was a bit longer than expected. Rate, comment and share your thoughts.

See you all next time.


	4. Chapter 3: Harsh Reality

**Chapter 3: The Loss of a Comrade**

_This place is… a hospital. Why am I here? Oh right, I'm dreaming…_

_Over there… several people are standing next to some sort of table… all strangers to me, yet only two of them stand out…_

_A man with hair as black as night, a woman with eyes as blue as the sky…_

_Why do I feel like I've been here? This unfamiliar place…_

_And those two people… I feel like I know them._

"…_We're losing him! Doctor, do something!" The man suddenly cried._

_Huh?_

"_I'm sorry, we have done everything we could… But his heart, there is nothing that can be done." Another man dressed in what appears to be surgical attire hung his head._

_The woman was on the verge of tears, "No…"_

"_I refuse… I refuse to give up, to do nothing but watch my own son die like this!"_

_Your son? Who is that on the table… a baby! He looks really weak, will he survive? Man, this doesn't look good…_

_The surgeon looked up, "There is… a way to save him. If you use that…"_

_The woman gasped as she covered her mouth in horror. I assume that it is bad idea._

"_But… if we do that, wouldn't it be like… that child?"_

_The surgeon nodded, "Perhaps… but he would also be… a God among men. But it is your choice."_

_Say what? A God among men… Is that even possible?_

_The man looked really solemn, as if considering the choices in front him, "Do it… like I said I refuse to see my son die like this… Forgive us, son. Forgive us all…"_

I opened my eyes at that point. I looked around as I took in the familiar scene around me… my room in the Fenrir Far East Branch.

Getting up, I rubbed my eyes as I remembered my dream. What did I have that kind of dream anyway? And who were those two people? That man and woman, the surgeon... and that child? What exactly is that all about?

Well, it's not like I can get any answers thinking about it now. I checked the time to see that I've been asleep for more than three hours. Time was now 1330.

After exiting my room, I headed to the cafeteria to eat some lunch. Taking a ball of ramen as my meal, I soon noticed my superior officer… or rather Lindow waving at me. Nodding my head, I sat down at his table just opposite of him.

"Hey rookie, how are you doing? Are you starting to get used to living here?" Lindow asked.

Chewing a bit before swallowing I replied, "Fairly well. And yeah, I've pretty much gotten used to things here. How about you, Lindow? Doing okay?"

"Me? I'm doing alright, I guess. We'll get to know you better today. Or I'd like to, but as usual we'll talk about work. In today's mission, you'll be with Lon-range Specialist Gods Eater, Sakuya Tachibana. You remember who that is right?"

How could I forget? "The woman we saw earlier, right? The one who you said to 'buzz off' and who 'affectionately' called you "Big Boss"." I said, barely suppressing a grin.

Lindow rubbed his head sheepishly, "You actually remembered all that? Anyway when you're ready, go to Hibari and accept the mission I ordered, you got that? Sakuya and I are old frienemies, but she's okay so don't be too sacred of her. I'm counting on you."

I'm not really sure whether he meant that or not, But I'm pretty sure these two have a thing for each other. Or was it a one-side attraction? While I thought about this, Lindow looked at the clock and got out of his seat, "Well, I gotta go. See you around, rookie."

Waving good bye, I finished the rest of ramen and gave my tray back to the staff. I then went back to the entrance where I saw a man in red chatting with Hibari… Actually it looked like one-sided conversation considering he was doing all the talking. I also noticed three guys, one in a blue jacket, the second in white-tailored clothes and the third in a green sweater and black cap. I also noticed a girl in purple with a eye patch over her left eye. They were all looking… REALLY impatient at the guy in red.

Figuring I'd better tell him and spare him the trouble of getting pounded by teammates, I tapped the guy on shoulder. "Excuse me, but your team…"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm kinda busy right now, so if you don't mind." The guy merely shrugged me off. What the hell?

Looking at Hibari who returned my gaze, then at his teammates who noticed me and then, at the guy who had his back on me, I sighed.

We could have done this the easy way or the hard, pal. You asked for it.

Rolling up my sleeves, I grabbed the guy by the collar of his shirt and proceeded to drag him over to his teammates, who all had a surprised but amused look on their faces. When I reached them, the guy in green was laughing, the girl in purple were giggling while the guy in blue was chuckling. The guy in white? Still had that amused look on his face.

"Figured this guy was with you." I said while finally letting go of the guy in red.

"How did you know? Name's Brendan Bardell by the way. Are you the New Type?" The guy in blue introduced himself.

Nodding my head, "My name is Kamino Yukimoto, the rookie Gods Eater who joined a few days ago. And considering the fact you guys looked like wanting to beat the crap out him? Not really that hard to figure out."

The guy in green finally stopped laughing, "Did we really look that mad? I'm Shun Ogawa. This is Gina Dickson and Karel Schneider. That senior you were dragging earlier is Tatsumi O'Mori, our leader." Tatsumi then got up and gave me an extremely annoyed look on his face, "You should learn to respect your seniors, rookie. Especially when they are busy with something important."

Upon hearing that, I crossed my arms and raised one eyebrow, "Considering you were talking non-stop to ONLY operator in the Far East Branch? I don't think that's something of a good example of what a junior can respect a senior for. Besides if I didn't do it, your teammates would and I doubt they'd be as subtle as I was." Brendan nodded in agreement, "You got that right."

I then asked Tatsumi, "Aren't you guys on a mission or something? You'll have plenty of time to talk to Hibari once you're done. It's not like she's going anywhere, right?" Tatsumi looked at Hibari and then gave a resigned sigh, "Yeah, I guess you're right. See you around, rookie." Waving goodbye, I returned to Hibari… who has broken down laughing after Tatsumi's group left.

"Err… Hibari? Earth to Hibari, are you alright?" I asked with concern. Hibari appeared to be having trouble talking with tears of laughter rolling down her face. Finally calming down, she said, "S-Sorry… I didn't think anyone would get rid of Tatsumi that way, especially you Kamino. Thank by the way." I gave an amused look, "That makes me… what, your Prince Charming?" Blushing slightly, the operator gave me a soft punch to the shoulder.

"Kidding, kidding! By the way, I'm on a mission assigned by Lindow." Hibari checked her computer, "You are assigned on the joint mission "Corrupt Cocoon" with Sakuya. The goal is the defeat two Cocoon Maidens. Sakuya… she's gorgeous, you know!" That last comment made me ask, "You got a thing for beautiful women?" which in turn, earned me a "I do not!" along with another sock in the shoulder.

**-Location: Wailing Plains  
>Mission: Corrupt Cocoon-<strong>

Arriving at what appears to be appears to be a field with a giant tornado in the distance; I quickly made my way to the rendezvous with Sakuya. Upon arriving, she then greeted me, "You're the new recruit I met earlier. My name is Sakuya Tachibana. Nice to meet you!"

I nodded, "Likewise. I'm Kamino Yukimoto, ma'am." I felt really tense, due to the fact there was a huge tornado not far from where we were. But it looks like it's stuck in one place, did this happen because of the Aragami? Or was that tornado an Aragami itself?

Noticing my condition, Sakuya patted me on the back and asked, "Are you nervous?" I merely nodded in reply, denying it would be stupid since we are on a mission. "You need to relax. Or you'll find yourself freezing up at crucial times." A roar in the distance caught of Sakuya's and my attention. Looking into the distance, her expression became serious, "All right, I'm going to brief you now. During this mission, you're going to take the lead. I'll be backing you up from the rear. This is basic strategy for teaming up with a Gods eater with a long-distance God Arc, so don't forget it. And don't get too far ahead. Always stay within range of your backup. OK?"

"Got it." I said, nodding in reply. Sakuya then smiled, "Good, you do as you're told. I'm counting on you." Before doing anything else, I placed my God Arc to my forehead, "Let's go. I'm counting on you too, partner." Sakuya looked at me with the same amused look Lindow had given me when he saw this, "I heard about this from Lindow. But I didn't think you'd actually done it. All right, let's begin."

Jumping down from where we were, I quickly made my way across the plains while making sure that Sakuya was within a reasonable distance. Pretty soon I spotted one of the targets a lone Cocoon Maiden, with its twin not too far away. Apparently it saw me, since it started firing bullets at me… at least, I think they are bullets. Dodging them, I proceeded to slash them with my God Arc while Sakuya provided long-range support. It soon collapsed, with part of it hanging out. Wasting no time, I unleashed Predator form and devoured the incapacitated Aragami. "Let's go all out!" A single attack in my Burst Mode was all it took to finish it off.

Moving to the next one, I was about to attack when I noticed the Cocoon Maiden's body was open… I couldn't really think of any other way to describe it. Sakuya shouted a warning though it was a little late. Several spikes got me on my left shoulder, hitting me to the side, "Argh! Damn that hurts." I was just about to counter attack when I felt a bullet hit me from behind. What the…?

Looked around to see Sakuya call out "Sorry!", I realized that I was in her line of fire. Trying to move out the way, I got hit by ANOTHER bullet, this time a courtesy from the Cocoon Maiden. Note to self, NEVER let your enemy out of your line sight, EVER. Seeing this, Sakuya aimed her gun at me while shouting, "Here's a recovery bullet!" True to the name, I felt better after getting hit. "Thanks!" I shouted as I shifted to gun mode. No excuse for me to get by friendly-fire now.

Firing everything I got, I shifted back to assault mode when my Oracle Cells were empty and dealt the finishing blow. I then proceeded to extract both cores, completing the mission. Nodding her approval, Sakuya commented, "You did really well back there. Let's keep this up for next time." She then gave me a concerned look, "Sorry about friendly-fire." I shook my head, "It's cool. I wasn't paying attention and got into your line of fire. What's important is that we completed our mission without a hitch and we can all go home."

Sakuya smiled while patting my head, "Thanks, you're a nice kid." I gave her an amused look, "I can still a jerk if that's what you want." She then laughed, "No need, thanks for the offer though." Laughing together, we then headed back to the extraction point to be picked up.

**-Back at the Den-**

"Oh Kamino! Sakuya couldn't praise you enough! She was just here. I wonder if she's resting in her room?" Hibari said to me as she looked around.

I shrugged, "Beats me. For all we know, she could be making out with Lindow as we speak." Hibari raised an eyebrow, "You noticed?" I merely shrugged, "As if it wasn't more obvious. I have to admit, they'd make a good couple." Hibari nodded her approval before remembering something, "Oh right! There's another mission for you, Kamino." I was surprised at the news, "Already?" Nodding her head, Hibari checked her computer, "This time the mission is called "Iron Rain" and is located at the Sunken Grid. 4 Aragami were sighted at the Factory Ruins, identified as Ogretails ad Cocoon Maidens. This time you will be dispatched along with Soma and Eric."

For some reason, I saw Hibari had a look of concern when she read that last part. Brushing it off, I accepted the mission and after checking on my supplies, headed straight for the Sunken Grid.

**-Location: Sunken Grid  
>Mission: Iron Rain-<strong>

Upon arriving, I noticed two people present in the area. One was a guy has dark blue jacket with his hood on and had large Buster Blade resting on his shoulder. The other was a guy wearing a red vest with sun glasses and was wielding a Blast Gun. All heavy hitters by the looks of it. Noticing my arrival, the guy in red ran over towards me while waving his free hand.

"Hey, are you the rookie we've been hearing so much about?" He asked to which I nodded my head in confirmation. He then continued brushing his hair, "I'm Eric, Eric der Vogelweid. I suggest you take your cues from me, and learn to battle gloriously for humankind."

Since when was fighting for survival, "Glorious"?

The other guy suddenly shouted, "Eric, above you!" and I looked to see an Ogretail dropping down from the sky. I instantly jumped back in reaction, avoiding the attack.

Eric however, wasn't as lucky.

He looked just in time to be eaten by the Ogretail and was killed on the spot. As I blankly watch it happen, the guy with the Buster Blade shouted, "Don't just stand there!" while killing the Ogretail with single strike. After confirming that Eric was dead, he extracted the core from the Ogretail before turning to me, "Welcome to this godawful workplace. I'm Soma. Not that you need to remember that."

If I had to guess, I'd say he's mad for freezing up like that… Damn, Sakuya warned me about that too! If I had only just…

"Sorry to break it to you, but this kind of thing happens on a daily basis here." Soma continued before jabbing his sword at me, "What kind of place did YOU think it was gonna be? … Just kidding…" Even though he said that, my answer had already appeared within my mind…

A place where the only rule is survival at any costs, I thought bitterly.

Soma then turned around, shouldering his Buster Blade again, "Time's up. Let's go, rookie. If you don't want to die, just stay out of my way as much as possible…"

Acknowledging the warning, I decided to focus on the Cocoon Maidens while he handled the Ogretails, having dealt with one of them already. I soon noticed however, that there were still two Ogretails present. Was the one that killed Eric an extra? Clearing my head, I decided to focus on the task at hand. Having dealt with the Cocoon Maidens recently, I was more wary of them this time.

Taking care not to get hit by their spikes, I quickly dispatched with little to no trouble before aiding Soma with the Ogretails. Once that was done, I extracted the cores while Soma attended to Eric's body. I felt guilty about not doing anything when that Ogretail attack, but moping about it won't help anything. I have to get stronger, if I'm going to protect everyone. I just have to…

**-Back at the Den-**

Hibari smiled when she saw me come back "Oh, you're back! Is everything…"

"Eric is dead." I said bluntly.

Hibari did not seem to catch on and asked, "What?"

"Eric is dead." I repeated before adding, "He was killed by an Ogretail."

Silence hanged between us. For me, death was something I had gotten used to seeing during my travels. It hardly affected me anymore, since there was nothing I can do about it. But this was different, I am a Gods Eater. A rookie, but I could have saved Eric if I didn't freeze like that. Saying goodbye to Hibari, I went back to my room. The heavy gloom from the battlefield followed me still…  
>_<p>

And… done. Please rate, comment and share your thoughts.

I want to know whether I'm doing fine or I need improvement.

Maybe I'll hold off writing until I get few reviews…


	5. Chapter 4: A Troubled Heart

**Chapter 4: Unsure Feelings**

Sitting on my bed, I quietly thought back to the days before I even came to the Fenrir Far East Branch, to Japan. Back then, I was sitting in a transportation copter, on the way to the Fenrir Far East Branch…

"_Hey, kid! This is your first time to the Fenrir Far East Branch, isn't it?" The pilot said to me. I nodded my head, "Yeah, though I've been to almost every other branch so I doubt they have anything to surprise me." The pilot chuckled then resumed to concentrating on flying the vehicle. What I said was true, I had visited almost every Fenrir Branch possible. From Singapore to Thailand, from America to China, I had gone to most of the major countries for sight-seeing, even managing to get a few souvenirs. I did miss a few places, but plan to correct that soon enough._

_Looking over the horizon where the sun was setting, as if a small stream of heaven had revealed itself, I momentarily forgot about the current state of the world, how most of the nature that covered this world was lost, leaving it in a barren state, and the Aragami. But one will always remember sooner or later._

_In a time where the Gods have decided to devour this world, what can its residents hope to do?_

_In a world where the deities have turned on their subjects, who else can humans turn to?_

…_. God, I hate irony._

A knock on my door relieved me from my thoughts and turned my attention to the present. I wasn't sure whether to let the unknown person come in or send them away, in my current state, I was bound to lash out at people without meaning to.

"Hey Kamino, are you in there? Can I come in?" A familiar voice rang through.

Even though muffled by the door, I could easily pick up the tone of worry in Kota's voice. Sighing, I got up and said, "Yeah, I'm here. C'mon in, Kota."

The usual cheerful Kota was now quiet and solemn as he looked at me with concern on his face. He then forced a cheerful smile.

"Hey, good work… Hey, I heard… that your partner passed away. Mmm… I just don't think it would do any good… for us to be gloomy."

Looking at Kota, I can tell he has no experience in dealing with death, "Yeah, I know. But Eric's dead and that won't change, so we might as well move on."

Kota then had a look of shock on his face, "How could you say that so calmly!" As I blinked in confusion, he continued, "Someone died for crying out loud! And it even happened right in front of you! You should be panicking and screaming and… Oh, I don't know! Anything but calm and collected right now!"

I looked at Kota with a grim look on my face, "Unfortunately Kota, death is something I've seen ever since I was only 4 years old."

"… Huh?" Younger rookie looked me, puzzled.

"Back in Malaysia, the Shield Wall would usually be compromised due to the lack of suitable materials to sustain it. As a result, Aragami would often break through and attack the outer town. To counter this, the Branch posted twice as many teams to defend it but… There were always casualties, both civilian and Gods Eater." I paused to allow Kota to soak in the information before continuing.

"And even though the Wall has been upgraded with materials sent from other branches, after I left to travel the world, I still see the same thing, people getting killed, people getting devoured by Aragami… Over and over and over again, like some sick scene from a horror movie put into an eternal loop. Because of that… I ended getting used to death, like it's something you'd expect to happen every day…" Unable to continue, I trailed off and kept quiet. For a long time, the silence between us had grown so thick; you could tear through it with your bare hands.

"That's… really messed up." Kota said, breaking the silence. I nodded agreement, "I know, Kota. I know…" He then rubbed his head with both hands, "Mmm… don't worry! Let's be more confident! We're invincible!"

"Kota…" I interrupted.

"Yes?"

"If we… if the Gods Eaters really were invincible, none of them would have died."

"Oh…" Kota cast his eyes down, worried that he made things worse. Man, I really have to stop being downer at these times.

I cleared my throat, "Hey, it's cool. I know you're just trying to cheer me up, Kota and I appreciate it. Thanks, pal."

Scratching his head sheepishly, Kota looked like he just remembered something, "Hey, Lindow seemed worried about you. He just went back to his room, so you should go see him!"

Nodding my head, I patted Kota on the shoulder as thanks before making my way to the elevator. Hitting the veteran's floor, I waited for a while, wishing I had brought my Ipod. It was pretty boring, having to wait for your floor to arrive… Wait, it's the other way around. Still, I didn't think Lindow would be concerned with my well-being. He seemed the out-going kind of guy who doesn't care much for the complicated stuff… Then again, my current situation isn't exactly complicated either.

Once I reached the veteran's floor, I headed to Lindow's room at the end of the hallway and knocked on the door. "Come in."

Lindow looked at me from his couch, "Hey there, rookie. Never had a comrade die in front of you, huh? Come to think of it, we haven't really talked yet." He gestured to an empty space on the couch to which I sat down. Lindow then continued, "I'm not really much for talking… But is there something you want to ask me?" I thought long and hard on this before giving my reply, finally I decide to ask about Eric.

From what Lindow said, Eric was one of the kids from the upper-class. A bit bratty, but a good guy who looked after his sister… Hearing that Eric had sibling made even more guilty for freezing back then. Lindow then mentioned that by becoming a Gods Eater, you're mostly fighting against the weight of that responsibility. And that in his own way, Eric fought as hard as he could…

Just like me right now… even though I didn't get a good first impression of him, I started to respect Eric a little more now. Speaking of Eric, maybe I should ask Lindow about Soma. There wasn't much that could tell me anything about him.

"What about Soma?"

Lindow scratched his chin at that question, "Soma is one of the top Gods Eaters in the Far East Branch but he is misunderstood most of the time due to him being very blunt. Though you cannot deny he is a brat, nor can you find a kinder person than Soma is." Really, he didn't strike me as that kind a person when we first met. Then again, I did freeze without doing something back then.

"Soma's worst fear is losing comrade right before his eyes, so even if he doesn't show it, he obviously feels guilty about not being able to save Eric. This is why he normally keeps his distance away from others." I muttered to myself as I heard that, "Sounds like Soma has it rough." Lindow then looked at me seriously while placing a hand on my shoulder.

"So, I'm ordering you to make friends with him and prevent each other from ever dying. So you see… I don't want you to be hard on him, got that?"

I was pretty surprised at that last part, but question is how hard Soma will be on me if we meet… correction, when we meet. Nodding my head, I thanked Lindow for answering my questions.

"Hey, it's no big deal. I'm glad I could be of assistance. Anyways, both you and Kouta still have a lot to learn technically. Survive a while and you'll do fine. I'm counting on you….. Just don't get killed. Got that?" Lindow said with concern.

"Don't worry, Lindow. I have no intention of dying." I replied before leaving the room.

Figuring now would be a good time to check if I had any missions yet, I took the elevator to the entrance and went straight to Hibari, who also had that look of concern on her face, "Kamino, are you okay?"

Sheesh, did I really look THAT depressed?

"I'm fine now, Hibari. Thanks for asking. By the way, are there any missions for me?" I asked.

Checking her computer, Hibari then said, "Not yet, but you have a new tutorial available for you."

Another tutorial? I wonder what this one is about.

**-Training Room-**

Standing in the middle of the white, empty room, I gave my God Arc a few swings to warm myself up.

A short while later, Tsubaki's voice erupted from the loud speakers placed in the top corners of the room, "Welcome recruit. This time we are going into advanced combat. It might sound difficult, but try to follow. The Aragami that you're about to fight has different armor depending on the body part. Whether your attack was effective to that part can be determined by the reaction of the attack. I am sure you have read the manual and have already remembered the 4 reactions and the order in which they are listed, from most effective to least."

"While out on your missions, try to observe the reactions and deal the most effective attacks. I have here, a training target that looks like a Vajra. Attack it how you like for 1 minute."

Almost immediately after this was said, a large Aragami appeared before my eyes. Even though I knew it was just a hologram, I found myself intimidated by the vicious snarl on its face.

I sure wouldn't want to tango with this thing one on one.

I remembered from the manual that a Vajra is capable of generating electric attacks with the cape like organ on its back. I also remembered that it was vulnerable on its front legs, abdomen and tail while weak to Blaze, Freeze and Divine attacks.

Well, I couldn't find a better way to see if that's true.

I started by attacking the front parts, watching for the type of reaction it gave out. The face for some reason, was the most effective place to attack while decent damage could be dealt with to the front legs. The cape on its back was very hard, resulting a large "clang", as if I had struck metal. I also found out that the abdomen was indeed an effective place attack. Since the tail it was high up in the air due to the stance the dummy Vajra was in, I had to repeatedly jump to reach it. A bright white flash as I hit it confirmed the information.

After attacking the parts I found most effective in dealing damage, I noticed that the part I attacked soon broke off and that my attacks became even more effective.

"Okay, stop there. Were you able to find the spot where your attacks were most effective? Generically speaking, the tail is a weak spot and capes are strong against any attack. It'd be a waste of time attacking the cape. Try to move around to find that weakspot. Also know that Aragami armor can change, when Aragami is Enraged or its Oracle Cells are Unbound. When the Oracle Cells of the training target's front legs and head are Unbound, the armor becomes weak. Sometimes, it could get harder, depending on the situation. Just know, it requires observation."

I nodded while thinking about the new information. So, besides the fact that their Oracle Cells can be unbound, Aragami can get angry? I'm surprised that they knew anything other than devouring. Looking at the dummy Vajra, I ended shuddering at the thought of the real thing getting Enraged.

Things could get ugly should that ever happens.

I soon got out of my thoughts in time to hear Tsubaki giving me more advice, "The time you will spend in battle will change drastically if you attack the weak spot. Observe carefully, and make sure you attack that effective spot. But remember, that soft spot you're aiming for will change depending on your weapon too."

So the type weapon I use will also affect how much damage I can give them? Looks like I need re-check some weapon manuals…

"Alright, that is all for today's tutorial. You are free to continue with your schedule."

Bowing my head, I exited the training facility and went to the cafeteria to get something to eat. All those missions and training made me hungry. Settling on a light snack, I sat down at an empty table at quietly ate my food before noticing someone right behind me. Turning around I noticed that it was Soma, with a tray of food in his hands. He looked annoyed.

"Do you mind, you're in my spot?" he growled.

Remembering the conversation with Lindow, I shrugged, "There plenty of empty seats, you can pick one of them. Or… you can go find somewhere else to sit. It's your choice, Soma. But if you can wait, I'm almost done with this so I'll be leaving soon." Giving me cold glare, Soma resigned and sat in the corner opposite me. I tried thinking of something to say, but my gut tells me it was best to leave things as it was, quiet.

After finishing my snack, I tried again to say something but couldn't think of anything that might not piss him off. Sighing, I got up and was just about to leave when I heard, "So rookie, how are you coping with the death of a comrade?" I turned around in surprise, staring at Soma. I certainly wasn't expecting to him to ask me that.

"Honestly? I've seen a lot people die growing up, most of them were just strangers to me. Eric's death just… I don't know, hit me a lot harder than it normally would." Soma looked down as his tray, "I see."

Well it might not be what Lindow expected, but at least I talked to him, "There's nothing much we can do now but to move on…" I soon muttered more to myself than to Soma, "Dying is not the hard part, it's getting left behind." Soma looked up in surprise, "Huh?" Crap, don't tell me he heard me… "Nothing, just thinking about stuff. Anyway, I gotta go so I'll see you around." I heard a grunt as a reply and shrugged.

That probably couldn't have gone any better.

Even though it was still early, I decided to retire to bed. There wasn't much that could be done now, besides hoping that tomorrow would bring something better. Lying on my bed, I turned on my Ipod and put on the earpieces. Choosing my favorite song, I blankly watch the ceiling while the lyrics appeared in my head…

_Kanashimi ni nureta Tsuki ga shizuki ni,  
>Daichi wo akaku, Akaku somete kieru<br>Boku no koe ga Kikoe masu ka?  
>Satsubatsu to shita Kono Jidai de?<br>Boku wa boku de Irare masu ka?_

_Kokoro afure dasu Namida wa,  
>Kitto mirai wo, Motometeru Akashi na no<br>Ima no muryoku wo nagekanaide,  
>Mae wo mistumete…<em>

_You can get it over, Over the Clouds…_

And done, I got a bit of a block trying figure out what to write in this chapter. But I guess it worked out. Oh and before I forget…

**Disclaimer: **I do not own God Eater Burst or the song "Over the Clouds", each belongs to their respected owners.

Please rate, comment and leave a review.


	6. Chapter 5: Against the Storm

Author: What, no reviews other than Ash and Akuma-san? C'mon guys, this is my first fanfic I ever wrote, so cut me some slack! ;_;

Kamino: Maybe you should try and get some new ideas?

Author: And how exactly can I do that without hearing people's opinions first?

Kamino: Just saying…

….

**Chapter 5: The Rookie, the Twit and the Gorilla**

_I found myself standing in an unfamiliar place. Where am I? How did I get here?_

_Looking around, I observed that I seem to be in some sort of street. What's more was that there was a lack of people around, and I was carrying my God Arc._

_Confused, I walked around while calling to see if there is anyone nearby. A low growl from behind was my answer._

_Turning around, I saw that the source was single Ogretail. Smirking, I brought up my God Arc… only to realize that it was gone! Not only that, my armlet was gone too!_

_Panicking, I wondered how this was possible, not realizing that the Ogretail was coming closer._

_I realized too late when it lunged at me. I closed and braced myself, waiting to be devoured. When it never came I opened my eyes, and saw that the Ogretail lying on the ground, dead. A familiar figure was standing a few feet from the corpse, a God Arc in one hand. No, it couldn't be…_

"_Hey kid. Can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you?"_

_Running over towards him, I looked at the man, who was dead for more or less 10 years. I wasn't sure how I felt towards this, but I did know one thing: I had to thank him for rescuing me._

_Before I could do that, something horrible happen._

_His head began to bleed from the forehead, and then started to split apart, bit by bit. As it opened, a being began to grow from the cavity. It was gruesome, but what shocked me most was that I recognized the being._

_It was the form the God Arcs took when in Predator Mode._

_The Predator being then swallowed me whole and I fell… deep into a dark, endless void…_

BAM!

Waking up, I noticed two things first: One was that my head hurt and two, the room was upside down.

Scratch that, my head was upside down!

Getting up and rubbing my aching head, I noticed that the time was only 0634. Frowning to myself and knowing that going back to sleep was not possible now, I decided to take a cold shower and get some breakfast.

**-A while later, at the cafeteria-**

As I had guessed, the cafeteria was empty save for the staff. I was grateful though, the dream I had left me pretty jumpy should I meet any fellow Gods Eaters. Looking at the menu for today's rations, I noticed something I didn't see yesterday.

"Giant corn on the cob? What's that?" I asked no one particularly.

One of the staff decided to answer anyway, "Dr Sakaki's idea. Says this way we can save more natural resources on food."

The Doc made the thing? Wonder what it tastes like?

Ordering a helping of the corn, along with some buttered toast and tea, I sat down and decided to try the corn first. Taking it up and looking at it, I noted it had a very unusual color and texture, nothing like the natural corn on the cob I have seen. Shrugging, I opened my mouth and took a bite.

The next few minutes I spent spitting out what I had bitten and washing my mouth with tea. It was bloody disgusting, and as hard as a rock! Who in their right minds authorize that mad doctor to be in charge of rations anyway!

The only person who came into mind was Johannes, who may also be the only person to have never tested the doctor's products himself.

Sighing to myself, I set aside the corn and ate my toast, which thankfully tasted a lot better.

"Hello, Kamino! I didn't think you'd be an early riser." Stiffening for just a moment, I slowly turned to the source of the voice before sighing in relief. It was Licca.

Hey like I said, I was still a bit jumpy from that nightmare.

"I don't always wake up this early. Usually, it's a little later." I said before eating a mouthful of toast.

Licca ordered her food along with a drink and sat on the opposite side of my table. "Are you that eager to go on missions?" she asked. "You shouldn't get so excited or else you'll wear down from lack of sleep."

I sighed, "I'm not excited. Like I said, I just happen to wake up early today, that's all."

"Really~?" Licca asked again, looking into my eyes. I wonder if she could see the fear in them before I turned away.

Desperate to change the subject, I spotted my chance when Licca sipped her drink through a straw, "What are you drinking anyway?"

"Oh, you wanna try?" she asked, seeing no harm. I nodded and took a sip through the straw. My thoughts were, 'What exactly is she drinking? It's not so bad through…'

"What do you think?" Licca asked once I swallowed. I thought about it before answering truthfully, "It's… unique. What is it anyway?"

"Iced curry." When I heard that the first time, I thought there was something in my ears. "I beg your pardon, what was it you say it was?" I asked for confirmation. "Iced curry." Licca repeated.

I knew that curry was a southeastern cuisine that consists of a complex mixture of herbs and spices, with chili commonly added to give it its signature spicy flavor. But… iced curry? And as a drink to boot? God knows what happened to the taste buds of the girl in front me. Oh well, to each man his own, to each woman her own.

A giggle from the side brought our attention to the staff, "Well now, ain't that cute?"Puzzled by their behavior, I asked them what they meant. "Well, you had just drunk from the straw Licca was drinking from, right? Since both your lips had touched it, that's considered… an indirect kiss."

… A what? An indirect kiss? What is that suppose to mean? While I thought about it, I noticed Licca's face was red as a tomato. Was she sick?

"We are not like that! Kamino and I… we're just friends!" Licca shouted.

For the next few minutes, I watched as Licca begun a verbal battle with the cafeteria staff… Well, that what it looks to me anyway. As I sat there finishing the rest of my toast, I thought about what I had seen while I traveled around Japan when an old idea I forgot suddenly came back to me.

"Licca!" I shouted suddenly, bringing the verbal battle to a halt and causing both the mechanic and the staff to look at me in surprise, "There is a favor I'd like to ask of you."

Blinking her eyes, Licca asked, "Yes, what is it?" Gesturing her to come closer, I whispered my idea into Licca's ear. After I was done, I asked anxiously, "Do you think you can do it?"

Licca frowned while crossing her arms, "Hmm… it's difficult, but not impossible. I'll see what I can do." I nodded my head in gratitude, "Thanks Licca, I owe you one."

The mechanic shook her head in amusement, "Don't thank me yet before the deed is done."

Finishing our meal, we parted ways at the entrance before I ran into Tsubaki, "There you are, I have a new mission for you. A new enemy, a Kongou to be precise was last seen at the Tranquil Temple area. You are to locate the target and eliminate as soon as possible. Understood?" Nodding my head, she continued, "This time, you will be accompanied by fellow rookie, Kota Fujiki. This is the first mission the both you will be assigned together, so stay on your toes. Dismissed!"

So I'm partnering with Kota now? Come to think of it, we never went on a mission before. I wonder if he what kind of Gods Eater is he? Speaking of which, I better go look for the guy.

It didn't take long, as he had just arrived by elevator. The first thing he said as he came was, "Hey, umm… are we heading out together this time?" I nodded while answering, "Yeah, you already heard from Tsubaki?"

"Yeah, glad we both survived! That's all that matters in our line of work right? I don't know what my mom and sister would do if something happened to me, so I've got to watch out." Kota said with dim look on his face. Looks like he's trying to balance surviving on missions while worrying about his family. I wonder, how did Kota's mother and sister felt when the official came knocking at the door to announce that Kota had been chosen as a possible candidate for the Gods Eaters?

I didn't have time to contemplate that matter since Kota directed another question to me, "Hey, by the way… you know Sakuya, don't you?" I cocked my head to one side while replying in the positive, "Yeah, I do. I even went on a mission with her once… why?"

"So the two of you are close? She's really pretty, don't you think? Good-looking, friendly, and strong… Like an Amazon Warrior. How hot is that?" Kota said as he enthusiastically moved his hands to prove his point. Uh oh… looks like someone has a crush. But I can't say there's anything wrong with his personal observation on Sakuya though, so I merely nodded my head.

"Alright, I'm all pumped up here!" Kota said, pumping his fists as if to prove his point. "Let's see who can take out the most enemies during this mission!" I practically stared at Kota, dumbfounded at the challenge he thrown at me. Kota then said, "I'm gonna show that Sakuya how awesome I am!" Trying to impress a girl by killing more Aragami? And it didn't occur to him that Sakuya has killed MORE Aragami than the both of us combined? Oh well, no point getting him down after getting pumped up. I merely smiled and shrugged to myself when a thought suddenly occurred to me, 'Wait, does he know that Sakuya's already been taken by Lindow?'

**-Area: Tranquil Temple  
>Mission: Kongou Giant-<strong>

Standing within an old tower which once served as a lookout point for guards, Kota and I jumped down with our God Arcs in tow. Our targets for this mission were three Ogretails and one Kongou said to be found within this location. "Time to begin the mission, let's go!" I said to Kota. Surveying the area's layout, I decided that we split up for now. One is to get rid of the Ogretails and two, to find the Kongou as soon as possible. Once it is found, the person located it will fire a signal flare. Nodding to my plan, Kota immediately headed up the left flank while I covered the right. I immediately found one Ogretail and quickly dispatched it. Having fought them before, I was able to quickly dispatch it, owing more to experience than skill.

Before I could report to Kota, by instinct I narrowly dodged several spikes flying from behind me. "Son of a douche…" I said to myself while switching God Arc to gun mode. Having made preparations, I decided to go with the Blast gun along with Spark Mortar Bullets. Firing away, the Ogretail cried out loud as mortar shells bombed it to death. Sighing in relief, I heard Kota talk to me via the armlets on our wrists, "Hey Helsing, you there? I just got one of the Ogretails, how about you?" Looking at the smoking corpse I replied, "This is Helsing; I've found and dispatched the other two. Let's focus on finding that Kongou."

As soon as he heard this, Kota shouted, "What! No way, that means you're ahead of me! That's it, I'm gonna beat this Kongou by myself!"… Are you fricking crazy! How can face an enemy you've never fought before by yourself! I quickly replied, "Kota you twit, don't be a fool! You can't face an unknown enemy by yourself! Kota? Kota! Answer me!" I didn't hear his voice, instead getting a roar followed by some gunfire as reply… Not good. "Kota! Fire the flare so I can find you!" I then heard Kota saying something about being able to handle things himself amidst the gunfire and roaring.

Reaching the end of my limits, I ended losing my marbles, shouting and cursing at Kota all at the same time, "Son of a b*tch, Kota you f*cking moron! There's no way bullets can break the Kongou's balls, let alone its Oracle Cells! Now you drop the f*cking flare before that *sshole of a gorilla beats the sh*t out of you! NOW!" It didn't take long for me to see the flare after that.

… Hey, what can I say? When I lose it, I REALLY lose it.

Sprinting over to the flare's origin, I saw both the target and Kota, the latter looked pretty worn out. Since the Kongou hadn't seen me, I took the opportunity to fire a recovery bullet at Kota before charging in with my Long Blade. Giving it a few slashes, the gorilla like Aragami tried to take a swing me. After I dodged it, it spun around in place, allowing me to give it a few more swipes. Kota suddenly shouted, "I'm of bullets!" Without keeping my eyes off the Kongou, I shouted back, "Reload quickly, I'll keep it distracted!" At that moment, I saw the Kongou bend upward as air begun to gather at the organ on its back. Oh crap.

"WATCH OUT!" I shouted while bringing up my shield with my back towards Kota. As it fired the air bullet, my shield took the brunt of it, pushing me back a bit. I quickly ran towards the Kongou and slashed it straight in the face, causing it to fall on its ass. Taking the opportunity, I mercilessly attacked it, breaking the Oracle cells on its organ, tail and face until it fell flat on its stomach, a chance to devour it. I did just that and shouted as energy filled my body, "Let's do this, partner!" Intent of going full offensive, I switched to Gun mode and fired the Aragami bullets to Kota. "It's a condensed Aragami Bullet! Give the coup de grace when I give the signal!" Kota gave me a thumbs-up, time to finish this.

Stabbing the Kongou on the face, I jumped out the way for Kota to take the shot, "NOW!" The condensed Air Blow made contact and an explosion was seen. The Kongou roared in agony before falling to the ground. It tried to get back up but fell a second time, this time truly dead. I then strolled over to Kota, who asked, "What?" A single patch to the top of the head was my answer, "Are you an IDIOT! You know that it's an enemy we've never face before! You could have been killed, facing it alone!" Kota rubbed his head, mumbling something about doing just fine on his own. "Oh for F*CK's sake!" Kota wincing at my use of profanity, "Did you forget that Mrs. Fujuki and Nozomi are waiting for you? Do you know how they would feel, if anything happened to you…" I slowly quiet down as I let my words sink in.

A while passed before Kota spoke up, "Sorry, I got over-excited. I didn't think things through… Thanks, Kamino." I smiled, "It's cool, Kota. I promised your mother I'd watch out for you, and I don't make promises that I can't keep." Patting his shoulder, I extracted the core from the Kongou before noticing Kota giving it a weird look. "What is it?" I asked. "… Do you really think a Kongou has balls?" Smirking at the question, I asked him, "You sure you wanna find out?" Bursting into laughter, we walked back to the extraction point, the cold weather hardly dimming our spirits.

…..

After our lecture, Kota decided to go visit his family. I wanted to come with him, but I decided to go solo on a mission. As a wise man once said to me:

"Sometimes it's okay to rely on others, sometimes you have to stand on your own."

As I have been relying on others for a while now, I better start to learn how to fight by myself. It's possible to get separated from your team on a mission, so if you have been relying on people until then, you're screwed. Walking up towards the counter, I noticed that Hibari was absent. Finding it odd, I decided to choose a mission myself. Scrawling through the selection, I chose the "Cowboy" mission, due to the fact the mission targets were four Ogretails…. In hindsight, I should have paid more attention to the details. Without a second thought, I left after checking my inventory.

**-Location: Wailing Plains  
>Mission: Cowboy-<strong>

Grinning as I sighted my targets, I jumped down from the cliff. It didn't take long for me to get rid of them, but as I moved to extract the cores, I heard a deafening roar. Looking for the source, I literally froze in place. Large black cat-like features, a cape-like organ on its back, sparks of electricity flowing around it, there was no mistaking the Aragami that stood before me. It was a Vajra. I tried to run, but my knees began to buckle before I could make my move. Damn it, move! I barely managed to get away, the Vajra landing where I had been a few moments ago.

_You need to relax. Or you'll find yourself freezing up at crucial times._

Remembering Sakuya's advice, I breathed in and out before thinking about what to do next. Back up. I have to call back up! I tried to contact them, but ended getting hit a jolt of electricity. Crying out in pain, I felt my body go numb before seeing the Vajra appear beside me. Taking a swipe, it sent me flying into a nearby building, my back crashing into the wall. Coughing up blood, I quickly threw a stun grenade before finding a suitable place to hide. Once I was secure, I tried contacting the Den again, but received no response. I noticed that my armlet was somewhat cracked. Damn it, the impact from the building must have damaged the communication system!

I had to take care not to let the armlet get damaged further, or my Oracle Cells will go berserk and devour me. I thought about using a flare to signal but decided against it, the Vajra will try to knock it down. That left me with no back-up, no way of getting back, and no communications. I'm pretty much f*cked, aren't I? At that moment, the Vajra suddenly appeared. What the…? I ran out into open with it closing in behind me. How did it find me so soon? Looking behind me, the answer hit me when I saw its face. Its nose, it must have picked up my scent!

I had two options now, I fight or I die here. Well, I choose to fight. Bringing up my God Arc, I turned around and faced my opponent, "C'mon, you son of a b*tch!" I ran full-force towards the Aragami…

…..

**-Back at the Den-**

"Hey Kota, have you seen Kamino?" Lindow greeted the rookie. Kota looked puzzled, "Huh, he isn't back yet? That's weird… It's been over two hours." Sakuya, who was with Lindow became concerned, "Back from… where?" Kota answered, "He said he wanted to go on a mission solo so he can learn to stand on his own. Well, that's what he said." Lindow chuckled, "Sure sounds like him. Let's check with Hibari." When they reach the operator, she looked surprised, "Kamino? I didn't see him." Kota looked even more confused, while Lindow and Sakuya looked at each other. Hibari checked her computer and said, "That's weird…"

"What is?" Tsubaki asked, having arrived by elevator. Hibari looked up, "Oh Tsubaki! It says here that Gods Eater Helsing is currently on a mission, it's the…" Hibari checked before her eyes widened in horror, "… The Cowboy mission!" Lindow frowned, "Cowboy? Isn't that in the Wailing plains, where a Vajra was last…" the Corporal stopped in mid-sentence. Tsubaki immediately gave rapid fire orders, "Retaliation team, you are to find and rescue Gods Eater Helsing. Failure is not an option!"

…..

Lindow, Sakuya, Soma and Kota sat within the transportation copter, all with solemn expressions on their faces. Lindow occasionally looked out at the stationary tornado in the distance, "Damn it, rookie. Don't go dying on us…" Sakuya looked down at her hands, unable to say anything. Soma didn't say anything, but quietly sat down with his eyes closed, though he occasionally whisper, "Damn it, rookie. Don't you dare die." Kota was anything but calm, he couldn't help blaming himself for not stopping Kamino. If… if he had died…

"We have located both the Gods Eater and the target!" The pilot suddenly shouted. Looking out, Lindow saw both the Vajra and Kamino, both covered in wounds and blood. By the looks of it, the Vajra wasn't moving, but more importantly so was Kamino. Jumping out, the retaliation team landed and ran straight for target. It was surprising when they visually confirmed that Kamino was alive; he was resting against the body of the Vajra when he looked up and waved. But what was even more surprising, was when they confirmed that… the Vajra was dead.

Lindow was the first to reach Kamino, who said with a smirk, "Took your sweet time, eh?" The Corporal looked at the rookie with stunned disbelief, "Rookie, did you…?" Kamino looked behind him, "Oh this? I already killed it and extracted the core. Sorry I did your job for ya." Sakuya came up and examined Kamino's injuries while Soma and Kota shared the same look of disbelief. "You have multiple cuts and bruises, some second-degree burns, a blunt force trauma to the back and your left shoulder has been dislocated. How did you manage to survive, let alone win?" Sakuya asked. Kamino winced, "That will… have to… wait…" Kamino said before passing out. Kota shouted, "Kamino!" before rushing to his friend's side. Lindow remarked, "Relax, he's just out cold. But he sure has quite the satisfied smile on his face. Let's get him back, I'm sure he has one hell of story to tell when he wakes up."

As Sakuya and Kota carried Kamino back to the transport, Lindow inspected the Vajra's corpse. It had several burnt marks on it along with several deep cuts and slashes. There's no mistaking that the rookie gave it hell. As the transport left, the moon shone brightly among the star-covered sky, watching as the group make their way back towards the Den…

….

Phew, that's a lot! This actually went pass the 4000 word count too! Curious to know how the battle went? Please write a review and support!


	7. Chapter 6: At The End of the Battle

First I'd like to say thank you to all people who have given their review and who have subscribed to my stories. Now my personal answers to the reviews, if the people they are directed to are still reading it

To **Strife Atreyu: **Thank you very much for the advice. This story: Don't Run Away From Living is intended to have some unique elements but I tend to follow the original game to a certain degree. My 2nd story: Child of the Moon also follows the main story, but has far more unique elements than the first.

To **h3Ads1aMM3r**(a.k.a Commander Ash, my nickname for ya XD): Thank you for the support and glad you like the battle! The "drop a flare" part came from both yours Ragner's atory, I think. Kamino is not exactly strong; after all he nearly died trying kill the Vajra. He is just cunning and resourceful in battle, as you can see for yourself

To **Commander Zero: **sniff* Thanks man, that really meant a lot.

To **Rei Crow: **Thank you, I've been suffering a severe case of writer's block lately. But, I've managed to deliver.

To **Shigiya: **Glad you like it.

…

**Chapter 6: The Thunder God**

…_Where am I? Last thing I remembered was being found by Lindow's team and me passing out soon after._

_Moving around in this wide, empty space, I realized that my right shoulder no longer hurt. Sakuya must have fixed it, or so I thought._

_The only thing that could be said about this "space" is that it's white, very white. With the only thing that can be seen is my shadow._

_However that changed with the appearance of another shadow. Looking up, I've noticed that there was child standing a good distance away from me. I could make out that it was a boy even though I couldn't see his face. I made way towards him, only see him turn tail and ran. Surprised by this, I chased after him._

_As I tried to reach him, I kept calling out to him asking him what was wrong. I then shouted that he doesn't have to be afraid and that I won't hurt him. The boy slowed down before eventually stopping. Turning around, he asked me this, "Are you sure?" Confused, I asked him what he meant. "Are you sure you won't hurt me?"_

_I replied firmly that I would never hurt a child without a good reason and a sudden noise from somewhere made me turn away for a moment. When I turned back, I jumped in shock to see the child right in front of me, as if he was there the whole time. I soon watched in horror, as the child transformed into a large monster, one I had never seen before. Its shape greatly resembled a creature I read about when I was child. On its left arm was some sort of bracer and the outer side of its body was white, save for the underside which was grayish-black and certain parts which were somewhat orange. _

_Giving a loud roar, it looked at me straight in the eyes, as if asking if I could back up the words I had spoken earlier. I couldn't reply, just stare at the monstrosity with both fear and terror. Remembering that this was just a dream, I closed my eyes shut, repeating that fact to myself again and again until I decided to stop. When I did, I opened my eyes and sighed in relief when the monster was gone. The relief did not last… when I realized that I became the monster. I am the monster!_

_I opened my mouth and screamed… and screamed, but only heard a monstrous roar erupting from my throat. I didn't bother to stop, I didn't want to stop. It can't be real… This can't be real…_

"…ookie?"

"…ake up.."

"What's… him?"

"C'mon!"

_I can hear something… someone…_

…_._

"….Wake up!" I soon opened eyes. I can feel myself soaked with sweat. Lindow, Sakuya and Kota are with me, looking very worried. "Rookie, are you alright? Man, that must be one hell of a nightmare you were having." I didn't reply, just gazed into space in front me. Breathing heavily, my mind was a complete blank. "Rookie? Rookie, are you okay?" Lindow said snapping his fingers in front of me. Sakuya came close, "He's in complete shock and he looks a lot worse than he was two days ago." Kota went near the bed I was in, "Hey, Kamino! C'mon man, snap out of it!" Eventually, I've managed regain composure and gave a weak reply, "I'm fine now. Sorry to worry you." Since my throat was dry, my voice sounded more like a croak from frog. Lindow poured me a glass of water and passed it to me, which I gratefully too and downed its contents in one go. "You gave us quite a scare just now. It's good to know you're alright." Sakuya said to me. Kota lightly punched me, "Yeah, you already got us worried when we found out you were fighting a Vajra alone." Feeling alive again, I gave Kota an apologetic grin, "Sorry, but my armlet got damaged during the fight, so I couldn't call for help." Lindow smiled, "Yeah, we know. Licca went bonkers when she saw your armlet. It looked like it was about to fall off completely, but damn lucky that it didn't. She managed to fix it while you were out cold."

Hearing this, I looked at the red, oversized bracelet attached to my right hand. Sure enough, it was fixed though still bearing the scars of battle on it. "By the way…" I heard Kota speak and looked up, "How did you manage to beat that Vajra anyway? I mean you were all by yourself, I thought you'd end up being its chew toy or something." Lindow laughed, "I thought so too. Even so, you looked pretty messed up when we found you. I guess you got knocked around while fighting it, huh?" Nodding my head, I soon clutched it when the drowsiness soon came in. Sakuya came over with concern, "Don't push yourself, your injuries from that last battle are still healing, it's for the best that you rest now. We'll come visit you again tomorrow." Kota, Lindow and Sakuya then left after saying goodbye. Lying on the bed again, my thoughts soon drifted back to the battle that nearly took my life…

…

**Two Days Ago: At the Wailing Plains**

Dashing to the right to the dodge an oncoming strike from the Vajra, I counterattacked as much as I could before falling back. Since I was already injured and lack both experience and confidence to attack it head on, I resorted to a hit-and-run tactic. I had a full supply of healing items, two snare traps and two stun grenades. I also have the knowledge of the Vajra's skills and weaknesses. Utilizing both to my advantage was the key to winning. The Vajra not only has electric attacks that can hit a wide area, but its size and speed were what made it an effective predator. Getting out of range, I quickly use a Restore Pill and waited for the next opening. My goal was to attack the Aragami's weak points; its head, its front legs and its tail. Attacking the head was out of the question for now, so I focused on attacking the sides and the tail as much as possible. Easier said than done, I was the only person on the field so there wasn't anybody around to distract it and the Vajra also has an attack which discharges an electric field around itself, so I also had to use my gun to inflict as much damage as I can. Fortunately, I had prepared a few types of bullets, courtesy of my experiments with them during my spare time.

Firing until my entire Oracle points were used up, my Blaze Burst bullets inflicted some damage, making in roar in pain. The Vajra glared in my direction while charging five balls of lightning in front of it. Since I had no chance of dodging at this range, I raised my shield and took the attack head on. I regretted lowering it after that, because the Vajra then did a back-flip and shot a lightning bomb after that. The impact staggered me, and left several burns on both arms and right leg. Had I took it head-on, I would have become a smoking corpse. Taking a few Restore Pills, I ran towards the Vajra and attacked its sides as much as possible. This took a while, since at one point the Vajra leapt back and forth several times, forcing me to go defensive. When I finally succeeded in breaking the front legs, the Vajra got up on its hind legs and roared, signaling that it was enraged. Seizing the opportunity, I threw a stun grenade and covered my eyes. As the light blinded the Vajra, I set my God Arc to Devour Mode and took a huge chunk from its side. As the Burst Mode activated, I felt that familiar surge of power running through my body and senses became sharper and clearer. Grinning, I targeted the tail which I had to jump to reach. My temporary advantage was short-lived however, as the Vajra surrounded itself with electricity, knocking me on my already sore back. It then ran off, presumably to consume materials to recuperate.

Getting back on my feet and wincing at the pain, I decided it was time to make use of the snare traps that I have. After locating the Vajra, I went up to it as close as possible before setting a snare nearby. Then, I went up to the Vajra and introduced its ass to the jaws of my God Arc. It didn't like that very much and chased me, straight to where I had left my snare earlier. Once it was caught, I unleashed my full wrath on it, determined more than ever to bring it down. Unfortunately, I was so caught up with it, I failed to notice that the trap had worn off and the Vajra swiped with its paw, knocking me to the ground yet again. The Vajra came at me with its mouth open and I had to roll away in order to avoid being bitten in half and being squashed by its paw. Scrambling to my feet, I placed a good distance between me and the Vajra before using a Restore Ball to heal myself. Knowing that it would chase after me, I used my last Snare Trap and waited for the Aragami to come. When it did, the Vajra made contact with the trap and was once again stunned. Seizing the opportunity, I aimed for the tail this time and succeeded in destroying it as well. I then retreated and bombarded the Vajra with mortar rounds, inflicting high damage.

When the Vajra roared in rage again, I reached for my last stun grenade and was about to throw it when the Vajra rushed towards me. In my haste to dodge the attack, I dropped the grenade and lost sight of it. Cursing under my breath, I ran up the side of a nearby building and jumped towards the Vajra's face. As I made contact, my blade blinded one of the Vajra's eyes. Dropping to the ground, I had no time to dodge as it swiped me away before shooting a lightning bomb. The impact threw towards me towards a nearby building and I felt blood going up my throat and out of my mouth. I winced in pain as I realized I could no longer move my left arm and I could barely stand straight, let alone move. With the Vajra coming at me full speed, I had lost all hope when my right foot made in contact with something. I looked down and my eyes widened with joy.

It was my last stun grenade.

I had a window of about 6 seconds and only one chance before the Vajra was on me. Whether I succeed or fail depended on how fast are my actions during that time.

5… I shifted my God Arc to Gun Mode and dropped it beside me. If I remembered correctly, the Bullets I had set in my God Arc were Blaze Mortar which suited the task I was about to do perfectly.

4… I reached for the stun grenade and placed the ring of the safety clasp in my mouth. There was a short delay of 3 seconds before the grenade will be set off. Removing the safety, I stood still with the grenade in my hand, waited for the precise moment I needed while the Vajra came closer and closer.

3… Everything seemed to slow down as I watch the Vajra, clenching the grenade tightly. I couldn't hear anything except my fast-beating heart and my controlled breathing.

2… I could feel the sweat running down my temple. The pain from my left arm seemed miles away, as if it was no longer part of my body. I was scared at the possibility that my plan will not work but there was no time for regret and there won't be a second chance.

1… I threw grenade straight into the face of the Vajra, who was now a mere inch away from making meal out of me. It was so close I can feel its breath on me and be able to see its rows of razor sharp teeth. Will I be devoured first or will the Vajra be blinded before that could happen? I placed my hand on my partner, closed my eyes and waited for the reckoning.

0… An ear-splitting roar nearly broke my head in two and made me wish I could use both arms to cover my ears. However, what is done is done and my goal has been achieved. It was all or nothing, now or never. Picking up my God Arc, I forced my aching body to stand up straight and move forward. I then moved my hand forward and shoved the barrel of my God Arc into the mouth of the Vajra as deep as I could. As I pulled the trigger, I grinned at the Vajra, "Hey, Kitty Cat! Feast on this!" I could actually feel the vibrations as the mortar rounds blew the Vajra's insides to oblivion. I continued to pull the trigger as many times as I can before my Oracle Points were completely spent. Removing my God Arc, I watched as the Vajra fell to the ground with smoke coming from its mouth. It showed no signs of getting back up. Dropping my God Arc and I looked up at the sky and shouted as loud as I could. I did it, I had beaten the Vajra, but most importantly…

I was still alive. ALIVE…

After managing to devour the Vajra's core albeit with some difficulty, I sat down beside the corpse and placed my partner beside me, completely exhausted. I was caught off guard with how soft the Vajra's fur actually felt and I wondered why it took so long to kill it. Remembering that I should signal my transport to come pick me up, I reached for signal flare and was about to fire it when I heard a familiar sound from the sky. Looking up, I saw another transport and that its passengers were Lindow, Sakuya, Soma and Kota and I sighed to myself in relief.

It has been one hell of a day.

**Present day: The Den **

Musing to myself, I thought about what might have happened while I was out cold. I was very sure the news that I had defeated a Vajra by myself one on one must have been spread throughout the Den, but I could care less about what others think. I am still here, I am alive and that is more than enough. Drifting off to sleep, I find myself looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

…

And done! Honestly, I had a pretty rough time about what to write. That, and I have been busy with my assignments. Anyway, hope you all like this. I'll be sure to make it better, when I get some ideas of course.


	8. Chapter 7: Out of the Battlefield

Author: Guess what, it's your first official day of leave! =)

Kamino: Didn't Ragner's story had something similar?

Author: Yeah, but you nearly died killing your Vajra while he double-teamed with Ash to kill his. Plus, you don't see him getting a day off after that.

Kamino: True, but didn't he go to Europe instead?

Author: …. It was NOT a vacation… Is it? o_O

**Chapter 7: A Day of Relaxation… Sort of**

When I woke up again, I found that my injuries were completely healed and that I could move normally again. Getting up from my bed, I changed into the Fenrir uniform that has been prepared for me. Just as I was leaving, I ran face to face with Kanon, who shouted and fell down in shock. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?" I said while offering my hand. Taking with appreciation, Kanon got up and dusted her clothes, "No, it's okay. But are you sure should be moving around? The doctors said you need another four days to recover." I smirked, "Well as you can see, I'm perfectly okay. By the way, have you seen Lindow?" Kanon shook her head, "Lindow, Sakuya and Soma are on a mission. It should be a while before they get back." I frowned, "I see. Ah well, I guess I'll see him when he gets back. See ya around, Kanon." Waving goodbye, I went for the elevator and pressed the button for the rookie's quarters, not noticing Kanon's puzzled stare at my direction. After retrieving my IPod, I pressed the button for the cafeteria since I haven't eaten for three days. When the lift had stopped, I absent-mindedly got off without looking, my eyes were on IPod trying to choose a song. My head made contact with two large and soft bulbs and I back off apologizing, "Oh sorry! I wasn't…" I trailed off when I noticed the person in front of me was Tsubaki. She looked really mad…

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, YOU IMBECILE!"

For the next half an hour or so was spent listening to Tsubaki's harsh lecture. I understood what she was trying to tell me, but at the same time it felt like my head was about to explode with what she was trying cram into it. It actually made me wish to go up solo against a Vajra again instead of this. When she was done though, Tsubaki lightly tapped my head with her clipboard, "Don't ever go doing something so reckless again. Always be prepared and suspect the worst, understood?" I looked up and stood firm, "Yes Ma'am." My stomach chose that moment to complain about the lack of food it had. Tsubaki looked at me with a smirk, "I suppose I've kept you long enough. One last thing before you go, in lieu of all the missions you have attended, you are given the rest of the day off. Take advantage of this and rest as much you can. Dismissed!"

A day off, huh? Come to think of it, this is the first time I won't be going on missions at all. Shrugging to myself, I went to the cafeteria and ordered a LARGE amount of food; so much that staff asked me a couple of times if I could actually eat it. I placed my food on the table, placed my hands to together and said, "I'm ready to eat." The next few minutes were spent ravenously devouring the food in front of me. At that time, I could understand the Aragami a little, who were constantly devouring anything and everything around them. I wonder what is it like, to be eternally hungry and devouring everything you see, day after day and night after night? Never experiencing the fulfillment of being full, of being content? Thinking of it that way, I actually felt sorry for them. "Hey rookie! If you shove everything down your throat like that, you might get a stomachache. Just slow down and take it easy, is not like the food is going anywhere." I looked around and waved to the two familiar Gods Eaters. Swallowing the food I had in my mouth, I greeted him, "Hey Tatsumi, Brendan. What's up, Defense Unit not on duty today?" Tatsumi sat down opposite me while Brendan sat beside me, "We will be in a while. What about you?" Brendan asked. I shrugged, "I got the whole day off, Tsubaki's orders." Tatsumi smirked, "Lucky you. By the way…" Tatsumi's voice got softer and he moved closer to me, "… I heard rumors that you killed a Vajra, by yourself. Is that true?" I looked at the anticipation in his eyes… and nodded. "HAH!" Brendan shook his fist in what looked like triumph. Tatsumi groaned, "Looks like you win the bet, Brendan."

I looked at them while finishing my food, "Waff wuff whaft?" Brendan smiled, "Don't talk with your mouth full. Shun and I made a bet with Karel and Tatsumi whether you really did took out a Vajra by yourself. Looks like you'll be treating us…." Hearing this, my mood immediately darkened, "A bet? You made a bet?" Tatsumi and Brendan looked at me, confused at my change of mood, "Yeah… why are you…" I immediately glared at them for not understanding, "Are you guys fricking retards? Did you guys go stupid after suffering head injuries or something?" Brendan got up and grabbed me by the collar, "What did you say!" Tatsumi tried to be the peace maker, "Hey, calm down! We're all Gods Eaters…" "AND YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!" Brendan and Tatsumi looked in shock. I could feel everyone watching me because of what I said, but I was too pissed off to be bothered. "We are all Gods Eaters, damn it! We are all the same, risking our lives fighting the Aragami out there! Even if we are the only ones who can kill them, we can still get killed in return! What do you think this is some sort of game!" Tatsumi looked down, unable to meet my eyes while Brendan looked uneasy. "A bet, a f*cking bet, for crying out loud! I nearly lost my life fighting that Vajra, I nearly died! What does it matter I managed to kill it by myself, who f*cking cares! I make one mistake and I would have been digested in its stomach by now! Well, here's MY bet. I bet you were all enjoying the fact I was in danger, weren't you? You were having a laugh wondering what I'd look like as a corpse?" Brendan couldn't even talk back, just stare at me while I vented my frustrations. Tatsumi tried though, "No man, we weren't…" I got up from my seat and slammed my hands on the table, startling everyone, "I'm not hungry anymore, thanks for the meal. See you around." Without giving a glance, I left the cafeteria in silence.

A part of me regretted saying such stuff and I knew that they didn't mean it that way, but the fact their view of life was damn shallow pissed me off. But then again, maybe I was the only one who thought so. Noting to apologize the moment I see them again, I decided that my next stop would be the God Arc storage bay where Licca is working. "Hello, Kamino! I see that you're already up and running." The engineer greeted me. Nodding in return, I shifted to my concerned topic, "Licca, about the favor I asked the other day…" Licca nodded, "Oh that? Yeah, I've already contacted the Italy, Germany and Hong Kong branch about the God Arc parts you asked. I didn't think they would send it over so soon…" I looked at the screen detailing the parts, "I told you before that I have been to almost all the major Fenrir branches, remember? While I was there, I gave the engineers a few ideas which they took interest in. They even said that if I became a Gods Eater, I would be the first person to try it out." Grinning, I turned to Licca, "Guess they never expected I became a New-Type, huh?" Licca grinned back, "Speaking of surprise, they said congratulations on becoming a New-Type." I gazed at the particular parts that my God Arc now consisted off: The Long Blade, "Animato". The Assault Gun, "Yang Rifle". And the Shield, "Generic Shield". As much as I'd like to go for a test run, orders were orders. Placing my hand on my God Arc, I smiled, "I look forward to seeing what you can do, partner." A thought then occurred to me and I took my God Arc with me, straight to the firing range.

Hey, while Tsubaki did say I should rest, she never said that I couldn't practice right?

Upon arrival, I met with another familiar person, who was dressed in purple with an eye patch on her left eye. She heard coming and greeted me, "Hello Kamino, I see you're finally off the sick bed." I nodded my head in return, "Yeah, I am. You're Gina, am I right?" Gina nodded back, "Yup, I'm Gina Dickinson and the best sniper around."She then took aim and fired at the targets beautifully, it was proof she had the skill to back up her confidence. I went up to the firing range and shifted into Gun mode. Noticing the unique features of my gun, Gina remarked, "That's quite the gu you have there. I looked at the Yang Rifle, "This? It was sent from the Hong Kong branch. I'm giving it a test-run." The Old-Type suddenly grinned at me, "Wanna have a contest?" I shrugged, figuring it was a good chance practice since I couldn't win anyway. A few minutes later, Gina had me totally out-classed and I congratulated her. She then gave me a few helpful pointers on wielding my gun, some of them were from her own experience. Thanking her for her help, I waved goodbye and gave my partner back to Licca. When I arrived at the entrance, I again absent-mindedly walked out with my eyes glued to my IPod… and once again, my head made contact with two large and soft moulds. Thinking I walked into Tsubaki again, I immediately stepped back and apologized, "I'm sorry, Ma'am! I wasn't paying attention!" A familiar voice spoke instead, "It's alright, Kamino. No need to be so formal." I looked up to see that it was Sakuya and breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh Sakuya, it was you. So you, Lindow and Soma just got back?"

Lindow appeared behind the Medic Sergeant, "Yup. By the way, why were you so scared when you walked into Sakuya's chest? Wait… Don't tell me you walked into Tsubaki's chest too?" I nodded my head, "And I got pretty harsh scolding after that. I'd rather go solo against a Vajra again than deal her." The Corporal laughed, "You got off lucky if that was all she gave you. Her bark is not even close to her bite." I suddenly found myself wondering if the Aragami was really what I should be scared. Lindow's look suddenly changed to concern, "Are you sure you should be moving about? You looked pretty messed up when we brought you in." I tapped my chest with my fist, "I'm alright now, completely healed and ready to go. Though Tsubaki ordered me to take the rest of the day off, ha ha." Lindow and Sakuya exchanged glances, "Well healed or not, it's best that you to Dr. Sakaki for a medical check-up. Don't push yourself, okay?" I sighed, "Alright, alright. I'll go see the Doc later." After we parted ways, I noticed someone else here whom I had never met before. It was an old man wearing mostly black, with brown boots and some sort of coat which he hung his left arm like a cast.

"Hey kid. You must be the rookie I've been hearing about. The name's Gen Momota." I bowed my head in respect, "Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Kamino Yukimoto." Gen laughed, "Glad to see some kids these days still have some manners. Anyway, you'd best meet up with the Doc for that check-up. How old are you by the way?" I frowned, "17… why do you ask?" The old veteran grinned, "Survive for a whole year, and I'll treat ya to some liquor." Scratching my head, I nodded and made my way to the Doc's laboratory. "Oh New Type, what can I do for you?" The old Doc looked up from his work and greeted me. "Sakuya wanted me to have another medical check-up just in case." Paylor Sakaki laughed, "Is that so? Well, I've got some time so one medical check-up shouldn't hurt. I'm sure you remember what to do, right? Sweet dreams."

…..

Paylor silently checked the status of his patient, everything he needed to know showing up on his screens. His blood pressure, heart beat were all normal, the scans show no irregularity on his body, his Oracle Cell percentage was above the normal level and…

Wait, above the normal level?

Sakaki quickly checked and re-checked his computers to see if there was any malfunction, but all showed green across the board. Where on earth are these extra Oracle Cells coming from? They never showed up when they were scanning him during his recovery, so why now? What was more mysterious was that the level was high enough to cause minor mutations, yet there no abnormalities detected on Kamino's body! Setting his scanners to detect the cause of this abnormal phenomenon, Paylor watched as the machine ran its search… and found the source. The doctor opened his eyes and looked at the results in shock. The source was located where he least expected it to be, but what was more surprising was **what** it actually is. Paylor Sakaki frowned as he turned to look at his patient, "Kamino Yukimoto… Yukimoto, can we consider this meeting fate?" Pulling out a drawer, Sakaki reached in and took out an old photo.

"A God among men, was it? Well I suppose your words became reality after all, old friend."

…..

And done! This came out a lot faster than the rest, but maybe it's because I wanted to write this part for a long time, ha ha.

Anyway, please rate and comment. See ya!


	9. Chapter 8: Meet the Team Part 1

**Chapter 8: The Dragon of Land and Sea**

For the next few days, I had been busy resuming my life as a Gods Eater, taking on missions, wiping Aragami and collecting materials… The same old, same old. I did go solo a few times, but only after confirming with Hibari that there were no other nasty surprises like the Vajra incident. I also met up and apologize with Brendan and Tatsumi for blowing up like that, so everything is cool between us. But just yesterday while doing the mission "Mouse Trap"; I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched. I didn't feel any hostility, as if whoever or whatever was watching merely did it out of curiosity. I didn't find any signs of other people there, nor Aragami besides the ones I suppose to terminate, so I brushed if off as mere paranoia.

In fact, that wasn't the only strange thing that happened to me. Whenever I went Burst Mode, I became much more powerful, faster, stronger and my senses became sharper, more so than usual. Heck, there was one time while doing a mission with Kanon within the group, I was the only one to avoid all her friendly-fires, though that only happened while I was in Burst Mode. Come to think of it, the duration lasted longer too. Brendan who saw it stood there with his jaw down, asking me, "How the hell did you do that? You have got to teach me how to do that someday, I was getting sick being hit by her bullets all the time." I couldn't tell him I didn't know how I could do that, or anyone else for that matter.

What the hell is happening to me?

Once, I went to Doc and told him about it, but all he said that it was something New-Types only had and told me not to worry about it too much. Well Doc, I hate to tell you this but you are a terrible liar. Of course, I never told him that there and then. But the Doc would have done something by now if it were bad, and since he is the only scientific expert on both Aragami and God Eaters in the Far East Branch, I decided to trust his judgment.

That didn't make me feel any better though.

Sighing to myself, I went to the entrance of the Den to meet up with Lindow and Sakuya for a mission later on. Come to think of it, this is the first time I went on a mission with the both them together. Remembering their "married couple" arguments while in the Den, I hoped they were mature enough to leave it behind during a mission. As I walk into the Den, I noticed Sakuya waving at me. When I got closer, Sakuya said, "I'm hearing good things about you! You're exceeding expectations, they can't praise you enough." Sakuya, as much as I appreciate the gesture, the last thing I wanted to be reminded of are my "achievements". Thinking about it was enough to make the scars from the Vajra ache. Sakuya's expression turned sour however, "But, uh, try not to overdo it, okay? You see… the greatest of Gods Eaters… tend to die young." As much as I hate to think about it, was Eric really counted among the greatest?

"Meaning I've got a long life ahead of me, is that what you're saying?"

The sudden arrival of a familiar voice from behind made me jump, "Goddamn it, Lindow! You scared the bejesus out of me!" I shouted, clutching where my heart is. The Corporal had an amused smirk on his face, "What, still not used to surprises? You should have learned to expect the unexpected by now, rookie."

I huffed, "On the BATTLEFIELD, where are Aragami are always prowling about, not inside the Den with your own comrades, you twit!" Chuckling, Lindow gave me sheepish grin, "Ouch, a fair point." Sakuya giggled at the scene, "Keeping executive hours as usual?" Lindow shrugged, "Right, cause I'm an executive. All right, another day of fun work, guys! It's gonna be the 3 of us today. I'll take the lead. Sakuya, you're the backup." He then turned to me, "And you're the commando. Show us what a New-Type can do… remember your training." I nodded my head, having checked the details of the mission beforehand. Our target this time is a single Gboro-Gbroro, a Draconic Aragami that can move on land and sea and fire water spheres from cannon on its forehead.

A sudden ring came from Lindow's pocket. He reached into it and pulled a device similar to a hand-held terminal. What surprised me was the hint of a glare that appeared on Lindow's face, something that I've never seen before. Sakuya seemed to have noticed it too and chose that moment to ask, "Anything else?" Lindow looked pretty distracted when he put the mini-terminal away, "Well, um… don't die, all right?" Sakuya said rather sarcastically, "Thank you for your very thorough orders, Big Boss." I could tell that she was worried about him even as she said that. Without another word we all left for our mission, each of us left with our own thoughts.

**-Mission: Crocodile Two  
>Location: Sunken Grid-<strong>

When we arrive, there were Ogretails prowling about. Even though they weren't part of the mission, they would be a nuisance when fighting the Gboro-Gboro. So the first step was to eliminate all of the small fries while searching for the target. I split up with Sakuya and Lindow so that we could cover more ground. I took one side of the grid while they took the other and it wasn't long before the area was clear of Ogretails. "Helsing, the Gboro-Gboro is on this side. Get over here quick!" Acknowledging Lindow, I quickly made my way to the battle when a water sphere trailed past my head. "What the hell!" Ducking for cover, I immediately recognized the Aragami from the description. The Gboro-Gboro began to thrash about, forcing Lindow to go on defensive and Sakuya hurriedly shot Recovery Bullets to keep him alive. I began firing Spark Bullets at the Aragami, averting its attention to me. It then crawled towards me… Though with the speed it was going, is it really crawling? I rolled to the side and began slashing it to hell. Once Lindow pitched in, the Gboro-Gboro eventually roared and collapsed on the ground. Lindow and I used our Predator mode and took a huge chunk from it. As the power surged through me, I felt the familiar changes within me as the Oracle Cells reacted. Lindow and I kept attacking the Gboro-Gboro until the top fin was broken. Getting back up, the Aragami roared with raged as green smoke began tailing from its mouth-

Wait, green smoke?

It literally tried to take a bite out of us after that, twice it went after Lindow and once after me before thrashing about again. Whenever it tried to bite us, it would use its mass and momentum to slide forward at top speed. It didn't really matter since, Lindow and I were always at the side and Sakuya was too far away to get hit. At some point, it disengaged us and ran away, forcing us to chase after it. The chase got complicated when it disappeared into one of the waterways. "Damn it, spread out and search! Do not engage it until the rest of the team is there." Lindow gave out his orders. I decided to check out the inner part of the grid, which had greenery growing there. I saw no sign of the target but I silently stared at the plants that grew there, one of the relics of what we have lost.

They were beautiful…

A sudden movement from the waters nearby caught my attention and I readied my God Arc. The large splash was heard as the Gboro-Gboro came out of the water and landed on the ground. It was tense moment when the Aragami noticed I was there and stared at me. I stood there, clenching the handle of my God Arc and waited for it to attack. Instead, it ignored me and proceeded to munch away on the plants. Lowering my sword, I looked at it and blinked for few moments before contacting Lindow, "I found the Gboro-Gboro, it's in the middle of the grid." Lindow answered, "Are you sure, Helsing?" Looking at it again, I nodded to no one in particular, "Yeah, I'm looking at it eating as we speak."

"… Oh."

"Lindow, just get your ass over here already."

"Got it. We're on the way."

I then went back to the outer parts of the grid and went Gun Mode. As soon as I saw my two superiors nearby, I took aim and opened fire, raining Spark Mortar bombs on it. The Gboro-Gboro roared in anger at the interruption of its meal and went straight for us. Grinning, I set up a snare trap in front of me and took a few steps backwards. And… it got caught; hook, line and sinker. Seizing the advantage, I took another out of it and decided to pass a condensed bullet to Sakuya. "Take it!" I shouted while shooting the bullet towards her. Upon receiving it, she gave me a thumbs-up, "Thanks, leave it to me!" Continuing our assault, I slashed a few times before adding a quick devour into the mix. Roaring in pain, green smoke began to drip for the Aragami's mouth yet again. I managed to block its bite attack, along with its thrashing. But what I didn't expect was that it could shoot from its cannon immediately while enraged.

As you might have guess, I got blasted and was sent flying towards a wall. On the positive side, this was nothing compared to what the Vajra did to me.

As I got to my feet slightly dazed, I heard Lindow shouted a warning. Shaking my head, I looked up… to see the Gboro-Gboro coming at me full speed with its mouth open! Even with my Burst Mode, it was physically impossible to dodge this without losing a limb or two and at this point, it was too late to raise my shield.

So, I did the only thing I could think of… I jumped straight in.

…..

Lindow watched in shock as the rookie jumped straight into the opened jaws of the Gboro-Gboro. Sakuya went next to him, equally as shocked. She then looked at Lindow for confirmation, "Lindow…. Did he just…?" The Corporal merely stood there for a moment, but was brought of his frozen state when the Aragami turned towards them. "Damn it!" Lindow brought up his God Arc and got ready for an attack when…

BOOOOOMMMM!

A large gaping hole appeared at the side of the Gboro-Gboro. The Aragami fell down, dead in an instant and from the smoking hole emerged Kamino, sticky and slimy, but otherwise alright. He then looked towards Lindow and Sakuya and said, "As much as I'm sure this a good time to say something cool, I'm motivated to say otherwise. THAT. WAS. DISGUSTING."

…..

Wiping my face and hands with handkerchief I had with me, I went over towards my superiors who had relief etched in their faces. Lindow gave me a thumbs-up but had a puzzled look at the same time, "Why didn't you jump over it when it was rushing you?" I gave him a blank look, "And lose both of my legs?"

"Yeah… but you do remember you can double jump while in Burst Mode, right?"

And at that point, ladies and gentleman, I face-palmed myself for forgetting something so basic.

"Goddamn it."

…..

15 showers or so later, I received word that I would be attending a 4-person team mission later on. After having my lunch, I went up to the entrance and saw that Soma, Kota and Sakuya were already waiting. I walked over and talked to Sakuya. "Ready to go?" She nodded, "Yeah, we're just waiting for Lindow."

Lindow? But with him that makes five people, and I'm pretty sure I correctly heard that it was a 4-person mission. Was there something I missed?

…

**-Location: The Old City  
>Mission: Concrete Jungle-<strong>

As we waited for Lindow give us his orders, I couldn't help but wonder why he was sent here. I checked with Hibari and she confirmed I would be with Soma, Kota and Sakuya for the mission. There's no way they would send Lindow out here just to give us orders, he could have easily done that back at the Den. Was this about my unusual Burst Mode? No… I told Sakaki about it days ago. If it was worrisome, why wait until now to have Lindow watch over me? Argh! Nothing makes any sense….

While I was busy with my own thoughts, Lindow gave his orders, "Hey, it's another great day to work! Return to base safe and sound. That's all." Kota looked confused with how short it was, "Huh, that's it?" Sakuya shrugged, "You won't last long if you keep questioning him like that." Soma merely scoffed, "What a drag…." Lindow then turned to the rookie, "Good to see that except one of us, our souls are all connected." The others also turned to look at him, but instead of an apology, a scoff or any kind of response for that matter, they are greeted with a look of great disdain. Lindow hurriedly apologized, thinking he went too far, "Hey, don't worry about it! I was only kidding! ... Rookie? Hey rookie, you there?"

I soon snapped out of my reverie, "I'm sorry, Lindow. Did you say something?" Lindow breathed a sigh of relief, "Don't scare me like that, will you? Anyway, this is the first 4-person mission these members have preformed. Just do what you always do." Incidentally, most the missions I've went to were done in either a 2 or 3-person team, so yeah, this is my first 4-person mission. "Huh? Wait, what about you, Lindow?" Kota asked. Lindow shrugged as he gave us a sheepish smile, "Well, you see, I've been asked on a secret date right after this. So it's just gonna be the four of you today."

… A secret date, in a place like this? Yeah, I'd believe it when Aragami start wearing underwear.

Another ring and Lindow took out the terminal from his pocket, "If I don't get there in time, my date will get mad and leave. Talk about impatient!" … Wait, the same person they caused to glare like that? I'm more surprise you didn't decide to stand her up! "I'm taking off now, guys. My orders are the usual: Don't die. Make sure you come back alive." Unexpectedly, Soma said, "They're your own orders. Better make sure you follow them yourself!" I guess in his own way, Soma really does care for his comrades. "Try not to stay out too late, Lindow, okay?" Sakuya said with a look of concern. After Lindow left, We then executed our mission. But even as we did so I wondered, what is the real reason Lindow came here?

…

**Meanwhile…**

In a Fenrir Special Operations Copter surrounded by similar transports, Director Johannes von Shicksal is seen sitting within it. Having finished negotiations with the Director of the Russia Branch a few hours ago, he then left and is now headed back to the Far East Branch, along with a new passenger. Johannes smiled as he glanced at the Far East Branch's newest addition, who was also a New-Type Gods Eater. 'With this… the Ark Project is step closer to becoming reality."

The New-Type, a young woman with long silver hair and wearing Mutinia clothes and cap was staring straight into the horizon. Occasionally, she would take out a necklace she wore around her neck and look at the charm attached to it. When she did so, Johannes' curiosity won him over and asked, "Is that from your family?" The New-Type shook her head, "No, from a friend." As she continued to stare at the charm, her thoughts were not on the charm itself, but rather the person who gave it to her a little more than a year ago.

"_Take this. As long you and I have one, we will meet each other again someday. Until then, I promise I'll survive, no matter what!"_

Closing her hand, she looked out into the sky, the words that were uttered fresh in her mind.

"I really hope I can see you again, Kamino."

…

And done. This is part 1 and yes! You know who will be joining in the next chapter! (No, not Voldemort) XD

Please rate and comment. Thank you, and see ya soon!


	10. Chapter 9: Meet The Team Part 2

**Chapter 9: A New Comrade and an Old Friend**

I explored the Old City on my own, the thoughts of my current mission floating in my head. We were to split up and head to four sections of the area within the city to hunt down the targets: 1 Kongou and 3 Zygotes. I was located at the west side of the city, Sakuya the east, Soma the south and Kota the north. While I was confident in my teammates' abilities, I was a bit worried since two of them were Long range Gods Eaters. Once I have located one of the targets, I planned to regroup as soon as possible. Soma could handle things alone no problem and Sakuya could take care of herself for a while, so that left Kota who shot his flashy bullets a little too often and leaving himself dry of Oracle Points in a matter of seconds. With that in mind, I kept a lookout for any signs of Aragami. A roar in the distance soon caught my attention as a Kongou revealed itself, saliva dripping as it watched me hungrily. Apparently, it thinks I looked more delectable than the others and decided to come after me first…

Ain't I the lucky one?

Sarcastic comment aside, I should inform the others. "This is Helsing, I found the Kongou! What's your status?" The sound of battle that came as a response pretty much told me that the Zygotes had found my teammates. I was pretty much on my own for now and decided to focus on the task at hand. I had to keep the Kongou busy for as long as I can until one of my teammates can pitch in. Having fought the Kongou before, I knew what it could do and that gave me an advantage. Dodging the air bullets it shot my way, I attacked the Kongou as much as I can before retreating and firing Spark Bullets at it. Being weak to Spark, the Aragami roared in pain before falling flat to the floor. Grinning, I activated Predator Mode and was about to devour it when…

"_Look out behind you!"_

I wasn't sure where the warning came from, but complied and looked behind to see a Zygote coming my way. It was just like the description, a large eye at the top along with the statue of the woman at the bottom. Jumping out of the way, I also remembered that the Zygote has wide vision and acute hearing, which means my battle with Kongou alerted it to my presence. Not only that, if one of them had seen me it would alert all the Aragami in the area to my location. Great, things will get messy, that's for sure. I soon noticed Soma running towards me, "Soma, concentrate on the Zygote! We got another two incoming so let's save the Kongou for last!" Soma nodded, "Got it!" Swinging the large Buster Blade, he attacked the Zygote and smashed it into the ground.

Ouch, I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that weapon. I wonder how much damage I could do with a weapon like that?

"_Strength alone isn't enough, child."_

I looked around again, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Oh man, someone please tell me I'm not hallucinating! Damn it, I can't afford to snap now of all times! An air bullet passing by soon brought me out of my reverie. "What are you doing! Get your head out of the clouds and fight!" Soma shouted while blocking an attack from the Kongou. Not needing another telling off, I cleared my thoughts and focused on the fight. True to my earlier prediction, the other two zygotes soon joined the fray, followed by Kota and Sakuya. Things aren't looking good. "Focus on Zygotes, save the Kongou for last!" I shouted. Everyone was too busy fighting to answer but they followed my idea.

The Zygotes alone were just nuisances but can cause quite a bit of damage as a group, especially when a stronger Aragami is present. We had to kill them first, quite a chore when we have Kongou blasting and pounding us. I switched to Gun mode and fired at the Kongou, hopefully to get its attention away from my teammates. Soma quickly took down one of the Zygotes while Sakuya managed to shoot down another. Kota however was focused on the Kongou, "I got this!" I nodded and looked around for the last Zygote but I could find it. "Where did it go?" I mumbled. It was then I noticed some movement near the buildings behind Kota, "What?" I looked towards Kota and spotted the Zygote right behind him! Damn it, it must have used building as cover. "Kota, behind you!" I ran full speed towards Kota and managed to strike it out of the air, but not before it used a smoke attack on me. Coughing, I tried to reach for a Recovery Pill when a large Air Bullet hit me from behind. Everyone shouted for me to get away, but I didn't have enough energy to move. As a result, the next attack got me incapacitated.

As I fell, I heard my teammates calling my name. I wanted to get back up, I had to, but the damage I took was severe. Lying on the ground, I soon lost consciousness as the whole world around me turned to black. Damn it!

"_Such recklessness breeds danger. Was such an action truly called for?"_

Oh, shut up. I am in no mood to be dealing with imaginary voices inside my head.

"_You think of me as a mere conception of your mind? No, my child. While it is true that I am speaking through your mind, I am as real as you are."_

Oh… Wait, what?

"_I have been waiting for a long time for you to hear my voice, for you are different than the others in more ways than one. While I am glad that the opportunity has arisen, it is unfortunate that it should happen under… dire circumstances."_

Dire? I've been in a much worse situation than this, and I certainly did not hear any voices talking to me then!

"_While I would like to continue this conversation, it would have to wait, for it is time that you re-join the battlefield. Best of luck to you, child."_

What? Hey, wait a minute!

"Get up!" A familiar voice came to my ears as I regain consciousness. Feeling a bit dazed, I shook my head and turned to look at my rescuer. "Soma, you saved my life?" The words came out of their own violation, I swear! "You got problem with it, rookie?" Soma asked me while giving a blunt stare. I shook my head, "No, just surprised. Appreciate the save." Hearing a grunt as a reply, I got up and noticed that all of the Zygotes were down and the Kongou was nowhere in sight. In fact, neither Kota nor Sakuya were around as well. I look at Soma with a puzzled look, "Where is everybody?" Soma pointed in the direction of the church, "After you went down, I managed to inflict a deep wound on the Kongou. Then, it disengaged and fled to the church to recuperate. That idiot you saved went after it immediately and Sakuya went after him. Let's go already, we don't need another close-casualty" Nodding my head, I brought up my God Ac and headed straight for the church. We soon met up with Sakuya and Kota, who were watching the Kongou feeding. When she noticed us, Sakuya waved and placed a finger on lips, a sign to keep silent. Nodding our heads, we quickly and quietly regrouped. "Are you alright?" she whispered. "When we get rid of that thing and go home, I will be" was my reply. And with that in mind, we launched an all-out attack on the Kongou.

Once it was over, Kota patted my back, "That was close one, I thought we lost you." Soma glared at him, "If he didn't take on that Zygote earlier, it would have been you lying on the ground!" Kota winced at this while I remained silent. Soma soon turned to me, "And you, you can't go saving everyone in front of you just because you're a Gods eater! Everybody dies and you can't save them all!" I looked at Soma and shrugged, "I know, but I don't intend to stop trying." The white-haired youth sighed, "Fine, risk your life for your comrades. Just don't end up like Eric!" and then left for the evacuation point. As expected, Kota did not like how Soma acted, "Man, what's his problem?" Sakuya shook her head, "Don't think about it too much, that's just the way he is."

**An hour later… Back at the Den**

Once we got back, we were greeted by Lindow, who apparently managed to finish his "secret date" early… Yeah, till not buying that last part.

Sakuya was the first to greet him, "So you made it back before us. Good work today." Lindow haves us a smile, "Yeah, I managed to wrap things up early. How'd you guys do?" This time, it was Soma who responded, "As per your command – the same as usual." Sakuya nodded her head, "Right, we finished our mission and didn't lose anyone." Kota jumped in, "You should've seen us! Brilliant teamwork – we were so tight!" Soma scoffed, "I don't remember you being of much use." Sorry, Kota. But I'm with Soma on that one. Lindow smiled, "Is that right? Then I guess it won't hurt to go on more dates in the future." Upon hearing this, Kota asked, "Aren't you supposed to hook me up with some girls first?" Hearing this, Lindow smirked, "Huh! Right, like you'll be able to handle a girl."

Err… Lindow? That was totally uncalled for. I can tell from Sakuya's face that the statement hit a nail where it shouldn't be. Fortunately, an announcement arrived and distracted us from the current situation, "Staff announcement. Earlier today, the 7th Unit successfully detached the core of an Ouroboros. All engineers, please come to Lab No. 5. Repeat, Ouroboros Core successfully, please come to Lab No. 5." The news was certainly a shocking one at that. 'Ouroboros, a uniquely-shaped huge Aragami with innumerable tentacles and known as the Conqueror of the Plains, its body is the size of a mountain.' I'd never imagine anyone would be able to take down an Ouroboros, let alone extract the core. Since the announcement just came, it must be not too long ago, I wonder who… Wait a minute, the only team that was sent out during that period of time was us! And since we were sent to take out minor Aragami, then that means… I shot a look of surprise and awe at Lindow, who confirm my suspicion by holding a finger to his lips. I made a note to myself to ask him about it in private when…

"What's an Ouroboros? Is it powerful?" Leave to Kota to ask the naïve questions… Okay, that was rude but close to the truth anyways. And if I'm not mistaken, then Soma will… "It'll pop up if you search the terminal. Do your homework once in a while!" Yup, right on queue. Sakuya showed a look of worry, "Well, I uh… really don't think the 4 of us are ready to take it on yet…" Kota looked surprised, "Are you serious? Not even a team like ours?" Soma replied, "One or two casualties definitely." I nodded, "Yeah, especially against an enemy as big as mountain." Lindow then said, "Hey, come one. If we can survive somehow, we'll get it one of these days. No need to worry about it now… just focus on staying alive." Sometimes I wonder where that optimism of yours comes from Lindow, yet another thing to ask in private. "You know, that line's getting really old…" Soma said in annoyance. "Right. And I'll say it to you till I'm blue in the face. You'd probably head off to your own death if I wasn't watching." Lindow replied with a serious look on his face. That pretty much got Soma who only said, "Damn you… shut up." Lindow replied with an amused tone, "Oo, yes, sir! Okay, I've got another date coming up, so I'm going for a hearty meal." As Lindow left, Kota and I noticed the change in behavior in Soma and Sakuya. While Kota looked confused, I was pretty much knew the reason why…

**A few days later…**

"Hey, New-Type, have you ever felt someone's presence around the old office ruins?" I turned around in surprise to see that it was Soma who asked me that question. I thought for a moment, then remembered about the feeling that I was watched not too long ago. Nodding my head, I told him, "Yeah, I felt it. But I checked the whole area at the time, so I thought I was just being paranoid." Soma crossed his arms, "I see… it's usually when I 'm on a solo mission… But if it's a non-Gods Eater… Damn, that means extra work for me… Maybe I'll hand if off to the Research Unit." I scratched my head, "Well, whatever works. Anyway, see you around Soma." I went up to the counter when Hibari said, "Oh Kamino! Lindow was just looking for you! I think he's back in his room now!" Me? Well, I guess I'll find out what he has for me, and get some answers along the way.

…

Lindow greeted me as I entered his room, "Hey Kamino… I have a favor to ask of you…" I was pretty confused by this, "A favor? What kind are we talking about exactly?" Lindow frowned, "Well… A new Gods Eater will be assigned to this branch soon. Probably another New-Type God Arc user." Now this I didn't expect, "Another New-Type? Does that mean having me is not enough?" Lindow shrugged, "Not sure really. You've been doing very well lately, so I doubt it has anything to do with you. I can't prove it, but our director seems to be gathering New-Type Gods Eaters to the Far East Branch. Which brings me to my request. If he ever says anything about that to you, could you let me know?" …. Huh? "Err… why couldn't you ask him yourself instead having me be the middle-man?" I asked. Lindow gave a blank look, "Sure, but I find it hard to talk to that guy. Only if you feel like it, by the way. If it's confidential, you don't need to reveal it, but I'll give you a reward for that." As I left the room, I frowned to myself. It seems there's a lot more going on here that it appears on the surface… It was not until I was in the elevator when it hit me…

Doh! I forgot to ask about the Ouroboros!

**The next day…**

After having my breakfast, I walked towards the elevator as I dwelled on what Lindow had told me yesterday. I never heard anything about another New Type coming to the Far East Branch, nor did I hear anything from the Director… Actually, come to think of it, I remember hearing that the Director went to the Russia branch a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was for business, but if Lindow is right…

"Hey Kamino!" I looked around and saw Lindow walking towards me, "Hey Lindow, what is it?" Lindow smirked, "Well, big sis… I mean Tsubaki said to gather at the entrance. Apparently we have a new recruit assigned to our team." I look at Lindow, "You think it's the New-Type from Russia?" My team leader grinned, "Figured that out, huh? Yeah, most probably since you were assigned to me as well." I shrugged, "One way to find out for sure." We then made our way to the entrance and met with Sakuya, Soma and Kota along the way.

A few minutes later, I overheard people gossiping among themselves, one of them I recognized as Licca;

"Did you hear? They're assigning another New-Type."

"Oh? That's news to me. There's been a flood of New-Types lately, huh?"

"I hear the director brought her over himself, from the Russia Branch."

I didn't catch the rest of it since the elevator opened at that moment. Tsubaki left it along with a familiar looking girl…. When I looked at her face, I felt my eyes widened with surprise at the familiar sight. Tsubaki announced, "I have an introduction to make. This is a New-Type recruit: she'll be joining your ranks today." The girl then spoke, "Nice to meet you. My name is Alisa Illinichina Amiella. As of 1200 hours today, I've been transferred here from the Russia Branch. I look forward to working with you." Kota spoke with a little- too much enthusiasm, "Hey, girls are more than welcome here anytime!" Alisa glared at him, "I'm amazed that you've survived so long around here with that frivolous attitude." I chuckled, "That's because I always had to pull his ass out of the fire… for more times than I can count." Stepping forward, I smiled at Alisa, who gasped as she immediately recognized me, "Hey Alisa, it's been a while. Nice to see you're doing well."

"Kamino..!" Alisa cried out before catching herself. Coughing slightly, she spoke again in formal tone, "I mean, it's nice to see you again. I see you have succeeded in achieving your dream to become a Gods Eater?" I feigned hurt, "Ouch, that was harsh. But, yeah I did." Tsubaki along with the rest of my team looked at us, she then asked, "Are the two of you acquainted with each other?" I nodded my head, "Yup, I met Alisa while I was in Russia." Tsubaki nodded, "I see… Anyway, she doesn't have much experience in actual combat, but her scores in the simulated battle were quite stellar. You'd better train hard, or she'll soon surpass you." I wasn't sure who that last was it was directed for, but judging by how she was looking at Kota, I could get the idea. Tsubaki then continued, "Alisa, I want you serve under Lindow's supervision. Understood?" Alisa nodded, "Yes, Ma'am." Tsubaki then turned to Lindow, "Lindow, I need to hand off some documents to you, so come with me. The rest of you can go back to your quarters. That is all."

As brother and sister left, Alisa then approached, "So Kamino, would you happen to be the New-Type here?" As I nodded my head, Alisa smiled, "I see… then we are both New-Types." Sakuya then said, "My my, aren't the two of you close?" Kota then chipped in, "No fair! How did you get the hot-transfer!" Oh for the love… Can't I catch up with an old friend in peace! I soon noticed Alisa's face was pretty flustered, "I-It's not like that! Kamino and I just friends! Right?" She turned to me for support. Deja vu, I swear this has happened before... Nodding my head, my thoughts soon shifted to my conversation with Lindow yesterday. Why would the director need more New-Types for? Even if it was for the sake of the Aegis Project, this is a little… unless it's something else.

Well, no point worrying about it now. At the least, things would be a little more lively around here.

…

And done, finally! Sorry for the wait, I had projects and assignments, not to mention exams coming soon! So don't expect any updates for the next two weeks, sorry!

Besides that, I'm also working on another story, Noble Wolf. But even that, has to wait.

By the way, who do you think my character should end up with? Usually people have already pick their pair, but I'd like to see what other people decide.


	11. Chapter 10: A Gods Eater's Everyday Life

**Chapter 10: The "First" Mission**

After Alisa transferred here, she spent a week of training for "safety reasons". Lindow told me that after her training was complete, he was going to bring her on real mission, just like he did with me. I wasn't sure how I felt about someone I know going through what I had done more than a month ago. It was an indescribable feeling inside me. True to what Tsubaki had said though, I heard that her training results were of the charts. If this keeps up, she really will surpass most of the Gods Eaters here, including me. A week later, I woke up in my room and did my everyday routine. Before all this, I wasn't really comfortable with waking up and expecting to fight Aragami all the time. But after some time, I realized that amidst the fighting, there was time for Gods Eaters to behave like normal people for change. Something I found out AFTER nearly getting myself killed.

Anyway, as I walked out, I soon met face to face with Alisa who staying in the room opposite mine. "Good morning, Alisa." She noticed me and returned my greeting, "Good morning, Kamino. Are we going to have a mission today?" I nodded my head, "Yup, today is the day you get your first mission!" Alisa looked noticeably excited as I gave her the news. Oh yeah! before I forget… I walked towards Kota's room and started banging on the door, "Kota, wake up!" A low groan came at first, then silence. I repeated my actions and this time got a, "5 more minutes, Nozomi…" Sighing, I decided to play my last trump card, "Kota, get up! Sakuya's out here and she's waiting for you!"

When Alisa heard that, she looked at me with a puzzled expression, but I placed a finger on my lips and gestured towards the door. A bang on the floor, followed by, "W-What! J-Just a minute!", some sounds of clothing being thrown aside followed by another bang against something wooden(I had to guess his wardrobe), some fumbling about, then finally the man of the hour showed up. "I'm here, I'm here! So where's…" Looking at the grin on my face and Alisa suppressing her giggling, Kota immediately realized he had been played. "Not funny, Kamino!" Kota glared at me while rubbing his head, the place where I presume he hit twice. I nodded my head while still grinning, "Perhaps not to you, you shouldn't sleep in like that. Besides, did you forget Nozomi handed the responsibility of being your alarm clock to me?" Kota groaned, "How could I forget?" I laughed, "C'mon Kota. Let's get some breakfast."

…

While we ate our breakfast, Kota decided to try talking with Alisa, "So you're going to have your first mission today, huh? How do you feel?" Alisa responded with confidence, "I feel excellent. It was only a matter of time before they put me on the field, I am a New-Type after all." Kota blinked at the answer, "Okay…" He then glanced in my direction, a sign for, 'Is she always like this?' In reply, I shrugged which meant, 'Just deal with it.' It wasn't long before a familiar voice came, "Hey! Glad to see you kids getting along!" I tuned towards our team leader, "Hello, Lindow!" Sitting beside me, Lindow greeted the others before turning to Alisa, "So… you ready for your first mission, rookie?" Alisa nodded her head, "Yes, sir!" Lindow scratched his head, "Hey, no need for the formal stuff. Just call me Lindow like everyone else does." I grinned, "Well, best of luck on your mission you two!"

Lindow looked at me before putting an arm around my neck, "What are talking about, Kamino? You're coming along with us!" I blinked in surprise, "I am?" While Kota and Alisa said, "He is?" Lindow nodded, "Director's orders. He wanted to see how well our New-Types can do on the field together with each other." He then looked towards Alisa and winked at me, "Besides, the two of you will be able to spend some quality time together. If you don't mind being chaperoned that is." At the time, I wasn't sure whether to facepalm myself or sock one to my leader there and then, but I decided to keep silent instead. But what concerned me, was that the director would want to dispatch to New-Types so eagerly. What does he want?

"So… what exactly is the mission we are going to do? What's the target?" I asked. Lindow looked at me while scratching his head, "Well…"

…

**-Location: Old City  
>Mission: Green Purebreds-<strong>

I stood there on the edge of the cliff along with Alisa while checking my God Arc. I still wasn't completely over the shock I had when I heard what the target… Correction, **targets **are. Two Chi-Yous… I fought one of them during a mission back in the Infernal Subway along with Soma, Sakuya and Kota, and it was no cakewalk. Has the Director forgotten one for us has never had actual combat experience before? Then again, Alisa's combat prowess is very impressive, but there is difference between a training program and actual combat; what you fight really can kill you. Lindow soon arrived behind us. "Ah… I'm working with you two New-Types today. I'll try not to get in your way, so don't me." Alisa replied, "If you ask me, Old-Types should stick to what Old-Types are capable of." Lindow laughed, "Well then, I'll see what I can do to live up to your expectations!" He then walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

To my surprise, Alisa screamed and jumped back. Lindow was equally shocked but managed to recover, "Whoa… I can see you really can't stand me…" Alisa realized what she just did and tried to apologize while pushing her cap down her face, "Oh… I-I'm sorry! It's nothing, I'm fine…" Sorry to say this, Alisa. But anyone who has seen what you just did would say you are anything but fine. Lindow laughed again, "Just kidding. Hmm… let's see… Listen up, Alisa. When things get chaotic, look up at the sky. Then find a cloud that looks like an animal, that will help you to chill. Until then, stay here. That's an order. Afterwards, I want you to join us over there. Got that?" Alisa looked confused, "B-But why should I do such a thing?" I decided to speak up at that point, "You won't live long if you keep questioning his orders like that, Alisa." Lindow humorously looked at me in awe, "He speaks. Anyway, just look for a cloud okay? Alright, we're going on ahead."

Nodding my head, Lindow and I jumped down while Alisa remained behind. While we made our way towards the Old City, Lindow and I talked for a bit. "There's something about that kid… she seems to have a lot of baggage. Do you know anything about it?" He asked. I answered in the negative, "No, I don't know anything about that. I met her a few times while in Russia but I couldn't bring myself to ask, you know?" Lindow nodded, "I see. Still, these days who doesn't have some kind of tragedy in their lives?" He then stopped walking, "Since you're a New-Type like her… try to look out for her. All right?" I nodded my head to which Lindow smiled, "Cool. Come on, then!"

Right at that moment, Alisa ran up to join us, "Hey! Wait for me!" Lindow looked at smiled, "I was wondering when you'll show up. So did you manage to find a cloud that looks like an animal?" Alisa nodded, "Yes. It was a rabbit." Lindow smirked, "Really, is that so? What color was it then?" Alisa looked confused, "Huh? Err… it was white." He then asked, "And what was it doing?" Alisa looked even more confused with what the Corporal was doing, "Umm… Eating a carrot, I guess?" Lindow laughed, "Just kidding. So did you calm down?" Alisa paused for a moment, then nodded her head, "Yes, Lindow." Lindow smiled, "Good, good. Alright then, let's get going you two." I gave Alisa a thumbs-up which she returned with a smile. We soon met face to face with one of the Chi-Yous. The Chi-You that spotted us, then beckoned us by with its right hand. Alisa was shocked, "Did it just challenge us?" I brought up my God Arc, "Yes!" Needless to say, the Chi-You is one of the few Aragami to exhibit human behavior.

Running forward, I jumped and started aiming for its hands and head. The body and wings were too hard to strike, so this was the only option. It soon jumped up and started its glide attack, which narrowly avoided by dashing to the side. Once settled, Lindow followed my example and attacked the hands while Alisa fired at the head. However, I soon noticed that the Chi-You took a stance I immediately recognized, "Lindow, get away from it!" Lindow heeded and jumped back, just in time to avoid a large area attack. The Chi-You spun in place, sending small blasts around it. Lindow breathed in relief, "That was close, thanks!" Nodding my head, I continued my assault which made the Chi-You flinch and clutch its head. Enraged, it placed its hands t its sides before cupping them together to fire an energy bomb. I barely had enough time to raise my shield when it made contact. It soon disengaged and retreated in order to recuperate.

"After it!" I shouted and chased the Chi-You as fast as I can with Alisa and Lindow following close behind. Stopping just around a corner, I held up a hand for them to stop and peeked. Sure enough, the Chi-You was devouring some leftover materials with its back turned towards me. Heading towards it as silently as I could, I prepared my Predator Mode and chomped its backside. At the time, I wasn't sure Aragami were capable of feeling pain, but seeing the Chi-You jump 5 feet into the air confirmed it. Each time the Chi-You brought its hands to its side and lowered its head, it would unleash certain attacks. This time it was another area-attack, I wasn't able to dodge in time and got myself blasted off my feet.

"_Careful now. You wouldn't want another 'incident' again, do you?"_

What the? At a time like this?

"You again? Can't you speak to me when I'm NOT fighting Aragami? You did that last time too." I asked as quietly as I could while dodging a bear hug from the Chi-You.

"_I am afraid not. We rarely are together except when fighting Aragami. You were always so reckless in battle, very different when you are in the Den. Just like that time you jumped into the mouth of that Gboro-Gboro."_

I passed the Aragami bullets I had to Lindow and Alisa. "Wait, what? How did you know that?" I jumped and delivered a _coup de grace_ by slashing from the head straight down to the abdomen. The Chi-You fell to the ground a little less than whole and a little more than half. As I extracted the core, I heard the voice said.

"_Didn't I tell you? We are always together when fighting Aragami."_

"Hey Kamino! You okay?" Lindow called out to me with a concerned look on his face. "You looked a little distracted back there. I'm surprise you were still able to fight like you always do." Alisa also look concerned, "Maybe you should wait at the extraction point instead." I shook my head, "I'm fine, Alisa. Let's find the 2nd Chi-You then we can all go home." I couldn't keep the fact I was hearing voices a secret for long but since it has no serious effect on my performance in battle, I don't see why I should be bothered with it. Still, I wonder what did it meant by "Always together when fighting Aragami?"

…

**The Den - One hour later…**

Alisa, Kota and I attended Sakaki's lecture again, with Kota dozing off as usual. Sakaki coughed a little before beginning, "Aragami… Back when the Oracle Cells were first discovered, they still existed in amoeba form." He said while showing us a screen of an Aragami amoeba. "After that, Aragami in earthworm form were found. 6 months later, Aragami in beast from were sighted. And by the time a year had passed, an entire continent had been thoroughly destroyed by the expanding Aragami." He then stopped and asked us a question, "Even considering that they evolve by taking on the form of whatever they eat, wouldn't you say that's a blistering pace?" I could only nod my head, since the only expert on Aragami physiology was right in front of us. "Right. Now strictly speaking, the Aragami don't actually evolve. The fact is… the Oracle Cell's gene sequence hasn't changed at all from the originals. You hear me? – Not one tiny bit."

I was shocked by this, especially after seeing different varieties of Aragami. Alisa was equally puzzled, "But wait a minute, that's not possible! They're changing form, aren't they?" Sakaki nodded his head and replied, "They… the Aragami you see, they're just like you right now." He paused before walking towards Kota while continuing, "For them, taking on the form of whatever they've eaten is the same as acquiring knowledge is for us." Sakaki then looked up at the ceiling, "That's right… all they're doing is acquiring knowledge and getting smarter. What kind of bone structure would they need to move in our environment? What would they need to develop the ability to fly? They're busy absorbing tons of information like a sponge soaks up water." He then looked towards us, "In a mere 20 years, they've reached a highly advanced level of development in terms of form and function.

He then poked Kota on the head, who groaned in reply. "Too bad the Aragami wasn't as adverse to studying as young Kota here. Yes, they're extremely dedicated and diligently students. I mean it really boggles the mind. I've even heard rumors of an Aragami that is actually capable of launching missiles. If that's really true, then that means they've even taken on the form of man-made tools." I swallowed hard at the information, "So you're telling me that the Aragami can change into a tank? Please tell me they haven't got their hands… Err, paws or whatever on a nuke yet." Sakaki winced, "No need to go that far. Anyway, if they can incorporate such complex information into their paradigm… Then perhaps one day, in the not-too-distant future, an Aragami in human form will appear." Alisa muttered to herself, "An Aragami in human form?"

I wasn't sure whether to be looking forward or be afraid of that happening. If that was became reality will we be able to separate the humans from the Aragami? Will it still attack us? I'm not sure what to think except it might not happen anytime soon. After waking Kota up, the three of us headed to cafeteria for dinner. There we met up with Sakuya and Lindow. Lindow waved at us, "Hey, you guys! How was the lecture?" Kota shrugged, "Pretty boring really. Was there any point being there?" Alisa glared, "Maybe if you stayed up for minute instead sleeping all the time, you MIGHT have learned something useful. Honestly, I don't see how you were able to survive this long without being properly informed." I shrugged at that, "I told ya, I'm always the one who has to save his ass." She then looked at me, "Maybe you should do us all a favor and let him deal with his own problems." Sakuya giggled, "Nice to see at least two of you are getting along just fine." Lindow chuckled, "I guess it helps to be close to each other, huh?"

Alisa face became flustered, "I-I told you, Kamino and I are just friends!" I sighed, "You two are sure to talk. Aren't the both of you are just as "close" as you say of us?" Alisa grinned, "Yeah, that's right Lindow. Aren't you and Sakuya just as close?" Lindow raised his hands, "Whoa, now you're ganging up on me? C'mon Sakuya, help me out here." I grinned, "You may know how to "handle" a girl, Lindow but you sure can't handle getting needled at." Laughing together, Kota took a sit next to Lindow while Alisa sat next to Sakuya. I noticed Soma watching from nearby and wanted to invite him to join us. However, Knowing Soma would just refuse, I instead waved at him which he surprisingly, returned with a nod. Smiling to myself, I was very sure that day that this will continue to last forever.

How wrong I was.

…..

And done. With this Don't Run Away From Living is on Temporary Hiatus. Why? Cause Child of the Moon needs some love, bad!

Anyway, I'm currently trying to unlock new upgrade paths for my Loeweberg. Does anybody know what rank do I have to be? Cheers!


End file.
